The Military Area Officer's "Coin of Excellence" was created to emulate a long standing tradition in the Military.  Commanders of military units wanted a way to immediately recognize personnel who performed to excellence far beyond what is normally expected.

A unit commander's coin became the answer.  Unit Commanders, usually at Battalion Level or above, designed coins that had some meaning and significance to their unit.  The design of the coin usually included symbols like the unit's crest or patch, unit mottos or slogans or related to the unit's mission and always referred to excellent performance of one's duty.  With the creation of a unit coin, the unit commander could now award it to personnel who performed to excellence on the spot.  This helped motivate individual personnel and helped create esprit de'corps (Common spirit of comradeship, enthusiasm, and devotion to a cause among the members of a group.) within the unit.

In the Military, tradition also dictates that a person, once awarded the "Commanders Coin for Excellence, should always carry the coin.  Because, if a person who was awarded the coin presents their coin to another person who was awarded the coin, then that person is obligated to display the coin they were awarded.  If they do, then the first person who made the challenge now owes the person challenged a drink of his or her choice.  If the person being challenged does not have their coin, then the person being challenged must pay for the drink.

The Military Area Officer's "Coin of Excellence" was designed with the same careful thought in mind. The front of the coin displays the Chicago Public Schools logo. The actual logo is blue and white. For our coin the gold color of the coin replaces the white color in the logo. In the actual Military Area Office logo, the letters in "Military Schools & " are the same color blue on the face of the letters as the CPS Logo and the same color red as the JROTC forms the shadow of the letters. The coins color of gold replaces the red color in "Military Schools & ". This two-tone color represents the long and successful partnership between the Chicago Public schools and JROTC. The engraved number at the bottom of the logo is the coin's serial number. That number is recorded along with the name of the cadet who was awarded the coin and the name of the cadet's school in a registry book that will become a part of the Military Area Office Historical Documents.

The back of the coin proudly displays the "Lamp of knowledge" recognized throughout the academic world as a symbol of academic excellence.  It is interlaced with three gold circles representing "Knowledge, Teamwork and Leadership" all attributes of excellence.  The three circles are incased in an outer ring with the values "Duty, Selfless Service, Honor, Integrity, Personal Courage and Loyalty reminding us that knowledge, teamwork and leadership must be tempered with personal values.  All these characteristics combine to build a better citizen for our country and society. This is in keeping with our mission of "Motivating Young People to be Better Citizens".  

Note:
Coin artwork and animation by Christopher M. Green
Coin design by Major Steven L. Green, USA (Retired)