Meritorious Service Decorations - Military Division
Meritorious Service Medal
Awarded on: 2012-11-30
Invested on: 2013-03-22
As chief of staff within Regional Command (South) Headquarters from September 2008 to June 2009, Colonel Simms performed remarkably well in leading planning efforts for a massive expansion of coalition and Afghan soldiers in southern Afghanistan. He revamped command and control processes to effectively manage an additional 24 000 troops while simultaneously overseeing the planning and synchronization of ongoing combat operations. Colonel Simms’ visionary leadership was critical to effectively integrating the troop surge, and contributed directly to improved security in the region.