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Where to pin a medal?
Posted at: Mar/21/2013 : Posted by: mel
Related Category: Perspectives, Politics & Gov, Watching America,
In case you had not heard, one of the last acts by outgoing U.S. Defense Secretary Leon Panetta was the announcement of the creation of a new medal now available to members of our armed services. To be eligible for this award, military service members must have done something significant while operating drones or launching cyber-attacks against our enemies. This new medal is called the “Distinguished Warfare Medal.” Personally, I think it’s a good idea. There are a lot of challenging tasks that take place in the military besides direct combat that warrant recognition. My concern is not the medal, but where to pin it. I am sure everyone has seen the senior officers who after many years of service have a chest full of medals above their left breast pocket. When the collection of medals and decorations gets large enough it is sometimes collectively referred to as “fruit salad.” Despite the chaos implied by the term fruit salad, there is actually a very specific structure and hierarchy to how all those medal are arranged and worn. In military terms this hierarchy is referred to as the “order of precedence.” Without getting into too much detail, the simplest description is to say that the highest precedence medal a soldier has is to be worn closest to their heart. Using this simple notion, it is easy for someone to identify a soldier’s highest decoration without having to translate everything on their chest. There are lots of different types of medals a service member might receive. Some medals identify the combat zone a soldier or sailor has been to; Vietnam, Korea, Granada, Afghanistan, and Iraq are a few. Being stationed somewhere is not the same as being in a combat zone. A sailor whose ship is home ported out of Sigonella Italy is in a foreign country, but not in a combat zone. Some decorations are for participating in a specific event or relief effort such as the relief effort for Japan following the tsunami of January 2012 or the earth quake relief provided to Haiti 2010. There are medals for individual accomplishment and for good conduct. There is a well-known medal called a Purple Heart that is given for injuries received during combat with an enemy. One of the most important categories of medals is those awarded for valor, gallantry, heroism and self-sacrifice during combat in the face of the enemy. Some of the decorations in the aforementioned category include the Bronze Star, Silver Star and the Congressional Medal of Honor (CMA). There are variations on each of these for all the service branches though some medals are common to all branches. The medals for gallantry and heroism during combat along with the Purple Heart have traditionally been considered the highest ranking of the medals available to American service members. As designated by the Pentagon, this new medal would outrank battlefield combat medals such as the Purple Heart and Bronze Star. I respect that the ways in which we wage war have changed significantly over the years. Some of these changes are driven by tactics, some by evolving weapons, and some by emerging technologies. Adding a new medal to recognize the great things that a few have accomplished while maneuvering a drone aircraft is fine with me. But flying a drone or initiating a cyber-attack is something done in rear area where you are not personally at risk for your own life and limb. Performing some great or heroic effort while at risk for your own safety should always outrank merely doing something extremely well. In America we pride ourselves on teaching and encouraging individuality and independence to our children; clearly these traits go back to the spirit of our revolution. One of the ultimate manifestations of this behavior is self-sacrifice. We have all seen the movies depicting the hero throwing themselves on the grenade, or staying behind to provide cover and protecting fire while their fellow soldiers evacuate or maneuver for a better position. Screen writers don’t have to make these scenes up; there are far too many documented accounts to refer to. Reading the citation accounts of Private Rodger Young (1943, Solomon Islands) or Staff Sgt. Clinton Romesha (2009, Afghanistan) to name only a few are inspiring stories. I would love to get romantic and patriotic at this point saying these brave individuals risked their lives for flag and country, but it is just not true. Soldiers who are a long way from home form a very close bond with their fellow soldiers. Under the stress of being far from home and under constant threat of death, soldiers will become very protective of each other. Audie Murphy may have said it best. When asked after the war (WWII) why he had seized a machine gun and taken on an entire company of German infantry in the Holtzwihr region of France, he replied simply, “They were killing my friends.” The uproar over the new medal has included a large number of Senators and Representatives from both houses of Congress and an online petition with nearly 20,000 signers. Despite the fact that no one has actually been awarded the Distinguished Warfare Medal yet, it has already earned the nickname of the “Nintendo Medal.” Responding to this pressure, the new Secretary of Defense, Chuck Hagel has ordered a review of the Distinguished Warfare Medal. Without being disrespectful to his predecessor Leon Panetta, Secretary Hagel brings a different insight to this challenge. Mr. Panetta served as a Second Lt. in Army Intelligence stationed at Fort Ord California from 1964-1966. Secretary Hagel served as an enlisted man during Vietnam and was awarded two Purple Hearts. Mr. Hagel may better understand the importance of keeping the Purple Heart and Bronze Star above the Distinguished Warfare Medal because of that combat experience and the related understanding of personal sacrifice. The business of war is an ugly business. We raise our children teaching them that it is wrong to harm others. If we send our children to war, we then ask them to set that notion of right and wrong aside. There is no doubt that being able to engage in war with long distance technology and remote control aircraft saves lives. For that very reason we need to do more of it and recognize those who excel at this special skill. Despite all this, there is a difference between doing something with great skill, and doing something at great personal risk. The Distinguished Warfare Medal is a good idea, but it should not have precedence over the Bronze Star or the Purple Heart. The nature of war may be changing, but blood, valor and personal sacrifice are the same and should never risk demotion.
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