The Battlefield Blog has a new article talking about the persistence system in Battlefield 3. Battlefield games have always had a huge amount of awards and Battlefield 3 will have more than 10 times the amount found in Bad Company 2.

Service Stars challenge the hardcore
Even getting your first Service Star would be a major achievement. But keep playing, and you will be eligible for even further promotion by getting Service Stars added to your weapon skill badge, your vehicle, your kit, and your overall rank. Anytime your kill card is displayed, everyone will see exactly how experienced you are with your current equipment. The ultimate bragging right would be for a player to be awarded the rank of Colonel with 100 Service Stars attached, and to have 100 stars in all weapons, kits, and vehicles. Getting there will be a massive task