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- Nov 25, 2007
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Oh, now that is funny!
Oh, now that is funny!
"As a Bronze Star (with V) and Purple Heart Recipient who lost his leg, this is spitting in my face," said Gunnery Sergeant Dave Boire, a Marine veteran of Iraq and Afghanistan.
Read more: http://www.businessinsider.com/combat-award-for-drone-pilots-ridiculous-2013-2#ixzz2LBG3VZRK
Sigh....imagine how I and other real combat veterans feel....
I do not ever recall seeing a female who was in her 9th month of Pregnancy in a REAL combat zone....
http://www.spiegel.de/international...er-war-for-american-drone-pilot-a-872726.html
Then GySgt Boire should also feel like he is being spat at when FOGOs (and other senior officers) are getting DDSMs, DSMs, DSSMs, and LOMs. He clearly was in the line of fire --- these other officers weren't, didn't lose a leg, and they were able to go home at night and enjoy their loved one. If you are going to complain about this medal, why not the others? Because there is more "responsibility/accountability" on their shoulders? The darn GySgt did something heroic and lost a leg (and I'm sure others have gone above and beyond that), yet we award medals more senior to people that all they really have to do is pick a COA? Doesn't make a whole lot of sense to me.
those are not combat medals and everyone knows it.
My ARCOM V means a ton more to me than my MSMs.
The medal provides distinct, departmentwide recognition for the extraordinary achievements that directly impact on combat operations, but that do not involve acts of valor or physical risk that combat entails,” Panetta said.
Congressional opposition continues to grow to a Pentagon decision to create a new medal for drone operators that ranks higher in precedence than the Bronze Star and Purple Heart.
Four senators — two Republicans and two Democrats — introduced a bill Wednesday that would prevent the new Distinguished Warfare Medal from ranking ahead of medals awarded for direct combat. It allows the Defense Department to go ahead with an award for extraordinary achievement in cyber warfare and for operators of unmanned aerial vehicles, but it would make certain the new medal ranks behind the Bronze Star and Purple Heart.
“Awards earned in combat for heroism, patriotism and a commitment to make the ultimate sacrifice for the freedoms we enjoy every day should not rank below a medal earned in relative safety...."
Are these FOGOs only in the Air Force or are they in other branches as well?..we (DOD) need to look at ALL of the other medals earned in "relative safety" (i.e. DDSM, DSM, DSSM, LOM, etc). Most of the FOGOs who get these senior awards, are sitting at desks, making decisions, able to go home at night, not having to worry about being in the line of fire..
Are these FOGOs only in the Air Force or are they in other branches as well?
Oooops. If we are going to discuss other branches and ranks that receive awards/medals without risk then we probably need a more accurate topic description.FOGOs are flag and general officers... aka admirals and generals of all shapes and sizes.
Our cyber warriors also sacrifice alot. Their scars are mostly internalized when they return home to change diapers after targeting an individual for destruction, working to minimize collateral deaths. They don't deploy for a year. They are deployed in place. Spending years on end hunting down the worst our planet has to offer. Few of them will be recognized with this new medal, but I suspect the stories would impress a board of combat commanders.
Argue the order of precedence but don't vilify their contribution to our war effort.
No, they really don't.
They aren't "deployed in place." They're at home, where nearly all but the most sociopathically driven among us here would rather be. They don't HAVE to go home and "change diapers." They GET to go home and change diapers. There are literally hundreds of thousands of Americans who spent years of their lives hanging it all out there, hunting down the "worst our planet has offer" from a vantage point where those "worst" could reach out and touch them back. They didn't get to eat mama's casserole or read the kids a story. The didn't get to deal with their "internal scars" in their warm house after a dinner date with their spouse. They did it on the cold wet floor of COP Keating, or a worn-out mattress in a plywood B-hut they share with an acquaintance, or the tight berthing of a ship. After months and years, they came home to spouses they can't relate to and children who barely know them.
In the past month, 9 aviators (8 Army, one Air Force) gave their lives here. That's being a hero. That's being the man in the arena. That's sacrifice. Flying an RPA from a chair in Vegas is not. I doubt many in the RPA community would try to tell you it is.
The Air Force is full of heroes in this war, but these guys aren't among them. Nothing about being a hero involves pushing a button at Nellis, and comparing the drone drivers' "sacrifice" to the thousands upon thousands of soldiers, sailors, airmen, Marines, and Coast Guardsmen who've sacrificed years of their lives, and years of their families lives, is an incongruity that borders on laughable.
The medal is ridiculous, but it's just a medal. It's not that big a deal. No one is vilifying their contribution, but many are seeking a bit more perspective.
Really?? In all seriousness someone actually would use the phrase "deployed in place"? Here's the difference: name one person "deployed in place" who has been a casualty- in fact name one who has been in a situation where they could have been a casualty? There is zero heroism involved in this job and it surely escapes me as to the nature of the "sacrifice" that someone "deployed in place" is exhibiting- in fact there is no where near as much sacrifice as a mess attendant aboard an underway submarine displays daily in the routine performance of their duties. These people who - to use the term- are "deployed in place" get to go home and change those diapers- they get to go home and see that brand new baby or the kid in pig tails or the new HS graduate son- that's what deployed in place gets. The lowliest E3 fuel handler or water purification specialist or finance clerk who never leaves Bagram doesn't get that much, and the families of that E3 don't get to kiss them good night, or smile with them for the camera. For those families- they are never quite sure if today was the day that the rear area became a combat area and they just don't know it yet. Using the term "Deployed in place" and speaking of their "sacrifice" is a misnomer and misreading of relative levels of sacrifice as any I have read.Our cyber warriors also sacrifice alot. Their scars are mostly internalized when they return home to change diapers after targeting an individual for destruction, working to minimize collateral deaths. They don't deploy for a year. They are deployed in place. Spending years on end hunting down the worst our planet has to offer.