It sounds like he was awarded the badge through the normal process, and it was only after the fact where it was determined he didn’t meet the requirements, and they “rescinded” it. So, at least in his case, there is a bit more to it than simply lying about his service

But that only leads to more questions, because shouldn’t they be looking more closely at this shit when they give those awards out? Who did he (or his superiors) have to convince to not look at the list too closely?