General David Petraeus is the commander the U.S. Forces in Afghanistan and commander of the International Security Assistance Forces. Recently he awarded Special Agent Staff Sgt. Caleb King of Daytona Beach for a job well done.
Staff Sgt. King was given the challenge coin award by General Petraeus for his outstanding work during his assignment with Task Force 2010 in Kabul, Afghanistan. The Task Force is devoted on following the flow of money in Afghanistan and battling corruption with the money flow. One week before the award was given King participated in raiding several stores owned by Afghans who were selling stolen U.S. government property. Because of his work the U.S. government was able to recover properties of the government as well as $175,000 in excess. As a sign of the general’s appreciation for his work he awarded Staff. Sgt. King the General Petraeus challenge coin on May 4, 2011.
Staff Sgt. King is a former deputy sheriff of the Volusia County. In 1999, he enlisted in the U.S. Marines and served for 10 years and is currently working on sensitive materials connected to the recent congressional hearings.
Last July 27, 2008 General Petraeus had awarded his challenge coin to his soldiers assigned in Iraq. One of the recipients was Army Specialist Jacob Riddle.
Riddle just finished doing his patrol near the base in late July and was looking to have a little rest when his non – commissioned officer sent for him to report for detail. When Riddle got to the main office, he saw many officers were all over the place and his superiors started briefing him which he found too arrogant.
He later realized through the briefing that he was receiving a special recognition from the commanding general of the Iraqi armed forces chief together with three other soldiers. They were called to stand in attention when the general approached each of them.
One of the officers announce that Riddle together with his friends are being given the award of excellence in the combat zone for coordinating troops on the ground and assisting with the air weapons teams.
General Petraeus shook the hands of the soldiers and slipped the highly coveted challenge coin into their hands as a token of his appreciation for their work.
Riddle found the coin too precious that he felt like it gives him the bragging rights receiving it from the general himself.
Challenge coins had been a military tradition since World War I and had been used as an identification of affiliation to a certain unit. The coins are presented between the ranks but commanding general’s coins are very limited like the General Petraeus challenge coin. Any one given the commanding general’s challenge coin considers them as one of their most prize possessions as they are awarded to them by the general himself.
General Petraeus challenge coins are gained by soldiers who have shown excellence in work. It takes a great job done to earn the coin from the general himself. Commanding general challenge coins are also available on limited edition online. They are a rare find for any collector and to have one of these highly coveted coins as an addition to their collection is a great pride.
