Medals are not like Patches, Badges, and Tabs. The things that show others what you can do in the Military.
Medals are a pat on the back from the Military, but, Medals do not denote a special skill in the Military.
People do not look at Medals on the Battlefield to see what it is a person is qualified to do, what experience a person has.
Badges in the Marine Corps, Navy, and Air Force; Badges, Tabs, and Patches in the Army do however help tell the story ahead of time and give a more complete picture of the Marine, Sailor, Airman, and Troop.
Army Battle Uniforms read like a book:
Unit of Assignment Patches.
Combat Patches.
Tabs over top of Patches.
Badges.
The person who has such does not need them to remember what Unit they are in, or what Unit they were in Combat in, or to remember what it is they are qualified to do, as that person has already done such things, that person already earned such things.
Those things, the Patches, the Tabs, the Badges, those things are for my benefit while looking at the person. So, never before seeing the person, I know at first glance what the person should be capable of.
Badges are funny though, as I know people who do not wear their CIB, because they have an EIB, which is harder to get now days than the CIB.
Army Troops know the difference between an EIB & CIB. Many in the Army would not understand why a person who rated a CIB would still wear an EIB.
Myself, I would look for either on the Battlefield to help give me a clearer picture of just who is more capable in a firefight. But, seeing an EIB with an Infantry Combat Patch would allow me to know that the person earned his Expert Infantry Badge, before going to combat, and choose to tell me by way of his uniform that he did rate the Combat Infantry Badge if he wanted to wear that one instead.