Posted on 02/18/2013 3:26:15 AM PST by Berlin_Freeper
The new Distinguished Warfare Medal, dubbed the "Geek's Cross" by detractors, ranks above the Purple Heart, which is awarded to those wounded in combat.
The award recognises "extraordinary achievement" by troops "who may not even be on the same continent as the action" and is intended for practitioners of cyber warfare or pilots of unmanned vehicles.
Joe Davis, a spokesman for the Veterans of Foreign Wars (VFW), America's largest combat veterans group, said it was a "boneheaded decision".
"Being on the front lines has to count for something because you're not just going home after work," Mr Davis told The Daily Telegraph. "You have to think about this from the perspective of the guy in the fox hole: they're questioning the leadership of the Pentagon".
(Excerpt) Read more at telegraph.co.uk ...
There are some medals that come....and go. This will be one of them.
If you dig into the wording...it’s possible to win this for things beyond drone-pilots....like cyber-warfare. So you could have a dozen airman win the medal for fighting off Chinese hackers...sipping Mountain Dew and eating salted peanuts along the way. At that point, everyone will agree that the medal is worthless and tossed out.
“...the perspective of the guy in the fox hole: they’re questioning the leadership of the Pentagon”.
This is the real reason behind this project.
BHO strikes again (or rather, Jarrett, Ayers, Alinsky & Soros)
For several years there has been a push to get a medal for those who served but never saw hostile actions such as the years between the Korean and Vietnam wars. The rationale being the “troops” were available but never subject to the hostile action. Such a medal has never been authorized.
"It is awarded for honorable active military service as a member of the armed forces of the United States including the Coast Guard,
between June 27, 1950 and July 27, 1954, (Korean War),
between Jan. 1, 1961 and Aug. 14, 1974, (Vietnam War),
between Aug. 2, 1990 to Nov. 30, 1995 (operations Desert Shield and Desert Storm), and currently
from Sept. 11, 2001 to a date to be determined (terrorism attacks on the United States)"
Good list, but no Panetta? The sec-def who flies home to Cali every weekend?
They should at least have to stand up while winning!
Granted they aren’t the same but you can do more damage with a types computer command then with a 2000 lb bomb.
Irans nuclear program was delayed and their centrifuges damaged by a computer virus.
There needs to be a difference but it is part of the war effort.
This decision reminds me of the bone-headed idea of the army to give black berets to ALL soldiers, since it would improve morale by making the soldiers feel better about themselves.
I guess they found that a lot of soldiers would have felt better about themselves if they looked like Rangers. As if they had EARNED the black beret!
Mark
The military has forgotten, if they were ever taught, the reasons behind metals. They offer clear visual clue as to who has seen combat and who has not. When the wheels come off who do you think the line grunt is most likely to follow - a person with a chest full of combat based metals or a general officer with a single row of “alive in ‘65” type metals?
This sounds like a medal given for the same reasons that they give every kid on the soccer team a medal. I agree that a medal should be given for proficiency, but it should rank up there with a “National Service Medal” or a “Good Conduct Medal”. To endow it with anything else, detracts from medals that award acts of valor (Bronze Star, Silver Star, Purple Heart, MOH, Navy Cross, etc.)
Anyone considering accepting one of these “feel good” medals for something it isn’t, should turn it down.
AIR FORCE COMMENDATION MEDAL
This medal was authorized by the Secretary of the Air Force on March 28, 1958, for award to members of the Armed Forces of the United States who, while serving in any capacity with the Air Force after March 24, 1958, shall have distinguished themselves by meritorious achievement and service. The degree of merit must be distinctive, though it need not be unique. Acts of courage which do not involve the voluntary risk of life required for the Soldier's Medal (or the Airman's Medal now authorized for the Air Force) may be considered for the AFCM.
AIR FORCE ACHIEVEMENT MEDAL
This award was authorized by the Secretary of the Air Force on Oct. 20, 1980. It is awarded to Air Force personnel for outstanding achievement or meritorious service rendered specifically on behalf of the Air Force. It may also be awarded for acts of courage lesser than for award of the Air Force Commendation Medal (AFCM). The distinctive outer border of this medal (pictured below) is composed of 11 cloudlike shapes, centered on the obverse a medallion portraying thunderbolts and wings, signifying striking power through aerospace, adapted from the Seal of the Air Force. This striking medal was designed by Capt. Robert C. Bonn, Jr., USAF. On the reverse of the medal in raised letters is the circular inscription, Air Force Meritorious Achievement.
The US Army symbol as seen on the dress uniform service hat the golden eagle, until I believe the Clinton administration was used as the emblem of the US Army flag, a golden eagle against a red field.
They changed it into that ridiculous concoction of blue objects in a white field of surrender.
Time to bring the proud golden eagle back.
Yeah I have some of those myself, 2 of the first and 3 of the second if I recall correctly.
Them and candy had something in common.
Forget the pilots. I want to know who IDs the targets. Who are we giving the power of life and death? Some Pakistani pick pocket with an axe to grind?
How does that work? The Ranger beret is not black
I believe that if you check, you’ll see that until 2001, Ranger berets WERE black.
http://www.army.mil/features/beret/beret.htm
Mark
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