With the Combat Command medals, you win a new medal every time that you play a new PBEM game! But with AAR medals, it's different. They're more about
style, than quantity.
Good news: if you've ever posted an AAR, you qualify for the first one: the "
AAR Poster" medal!
YAAAAY!
ompom:
Here's what it looks like!
The symbolism of the medal's colors is easy to explain. "PBEM Yellow", with a broad band of "Service" gray. The gray is there because you're serving our AACW community by posting an AAR, even if you don't think so. How? By providing us with more examples of game play to study, that's how! Of course, it can be kinda scary to post your games, so I've added a couple of "valor blue" stripes to reward you for your bravery.
To be awarded the AAR Poster medal, you must post an AAR.
So, that's not so hard to do! But you know what? It only gets tougher, from here on out.
The next medal is the "
AAR Announcer" medal. To start with, you have to post comments for
every turn in the game. They don't have to be long, but you
can't skip a single turn. (Sometimes, that's hard to do!) So, be honest with yourself when you're thinking about whether what you've posted deserves this medal, or not. The rule is: all of the turns have to be there. That's because part of this medal is about self-discipline, commitment, dedication, and stuff like that. To keep from sounding like a Mom, I'll skip the details.
[SIZE="1"]Even so, maybe this is the best time to point out that if you'll just quit
slouching like that while you sit at the computer, and sit up just a little bit straighter, then I'll be even more proud of you than I already am! [/size]
Anyway, with this medal, you have to post screen shots, but they don't need to be annotated. What you write should inform us of your plans, but it doesn't have to be long.
If you've done all of that in a posted AAR, then you deserve the medal. Wear it with pride!
Here's what it looks like.
A white stripe has been added to the "service gray". This symbolizes the self-discipline and focused effort that it takes to create an AAR without skipping a single turn, while filling it out with details and screenshots.
Good job!
The next medal is the "
AAR Commentator". The difference is that your screenshots tend to be annotated with helpful circles and lines and text and all of that kind of stuff, and the comments are more detailed. More white stripes have been added to this medal, to symbolize the extra effort and dedication that's required to do this. Even so, notice how they're not particularly easy to see. That's because learning new stuff and taking the time to practice using your new skills isn't a part of your effort that we will "see", unless we stop to think about what you've done.
Here's what the medal looks like!
Here's a thought: if you still have a copy of the game for an AAR you've already posted, you can "upgrade" your AAR Announcer or Commentator medal by "upgrading" your AAR! Just add more comments, or annotate your screenshots, and stuff like that. Everybody wins!
The next medal is the "
AAR Historian". It's tough to qualify for, let me tell ya!
Of course, you have to qualify for the Commentator medal, to start with. But you also need to provide some historical background to the scenario, and maybe contrast what you're doing with what was actually done. Furthermore, your AARs must have received some measure of acclaim: one or two posts from people lauding your AAR is sufficient. "Why" doesn't matter: maybe they like your style, or maybe you've taught them something they didn't know. In any event, the idea is same: people like what you've done, and want more.
Here's the medal.
This medal looks quite different from the earlier ones. To begin with, the flanks of the medal are colored with "elite black". That symbolizes that your AARs are considered to be among the best! The arrangement of the colors on the flanks might remind you of the Warrant Officer medals, and that's intentional: making AARs of this quality require some technical skills involving linking and graphics and stuff like that.
Wow! It sure isn't hard to see those white stripes of "dedication" now, is it? That's because its easy for us to see the time and the thought that you've put into creating such a high quality, informative and interesting AAR!
Finally, notice that the blue of "valor" is gone. You obviously enjoy crafting high quality AARs, and so any doubts about whether you're "doing it right" are gone.
The final medal in the series is the "
AAR Master" medal. This is not a medal that you can choose to wear. Instead, it is like the "Iron Tiger" of AAR awards, and you must be nominated with a citation and seconded with a citation to receive this award.
Here's what it looks like!
Like the other "Master" level medals, it features gold braid in the middle, set within a band of "elite black".
Now, let's face facts: this is a cool medal.
It looks cool, and what it's all about is totally cool, too!
You
know you want it...
...so go get it!
I've built several of them, and so it only takes me three or four minutes (at most) to build one.
I will now have to go out and draw and quarter myself 
There's always next time I guess 
