Chief of staff presents sergeant with Purple Heart Medal (Not for the Weak of Heart)

6/23/2006 - SAN ANTONIO (AFPN) -- A sergeant severely wounded in action in Iraq received the Purple Heart Medal today, pinned on his chest by the Air Force chief of staff.

Staff Sgt. Israel del Toro Jr. accepted the medal from Gen. T. Michael Moseley at a ceremony at Brooke Army Medical Center at Fort Sam Houston in San Antonio. More than 200 people attended the event, including family members.

The sergeant, supported by family members, fellow controllers, A-10 Thunderbolt II pilots, Soldiers, an Airman Leadership School class and the hospital medical staff was at a loss for words because of the big turnout.

Then he managed to thank his "TACP brothers" and those in attendance for their outpouring of support before he broke down and cried. A family member comforted him and wiped away his tears.

The sergeant, a tactical air control party operator, received severe burns when an improvised explosive device exploded near him while he was on patrol in Afghanistan in early December.

Sergeant del Toro was the controller on a mission with Soldiers of the 2nd Battalion of the 503rd Infantry Brigade as part of Combined Task Force Bayonet. It is a job for which he is uniquely qualified.

The sergeant is a qualified jumpmaster and master parachutist with 110 jumps. He completed Army air assault training and received his Air Force communications controller badge. The sergeant is also a qualified terminal attack controller.

General Moseley, who also visited Lackland Air Force Base during his San Antonio visit, said it was an honor to be at the ceremony. And he said it was an absolute privilege to wear the same uniform as the sergeant.

"You've come a long way to be able to walk," the general said. "You represent everything good about the Air Force."

There are a couple of things that are truly strange about this award. The first is an award of the Commendation Medal. That award is not made for heroism.

If you had bothered to look a lot closer at the pic, you would have seen that it is an Army Commendation Medal. The Army has its own rules for granting their Commendation Medal...and a Commendation Medal in the AF can be awarded for heroism. There is no hard rule on what medal goes for what action.

The second is that the sergeant's US lapel brass is that of an officer. Compare the US lapel brass to that of the General. They are the same. If this guy is truly a Staff Sergeant, then the US should be enclosed by a circle.

You must have missed the time when the Air Force changed its uniforms, to include the US lapel pins. It's been at least 10 years since that particular change was put into effect.

...unless things have changed drastically since I was in the military, then there is something wrong here.

Yes, things have changed a lot since...when were you in, again? The only thing wrong here is that you haven't paid attention to the changes in the Air Force since 1992, when this "business" version of the service dress uniform was introduced. Thankfully, the "Navy-style" officer rank insignia was never adopted, but otherwise SSgt DelToro and General "Buzz" Moseley are in full compliance with Air Force Instruction 36-2903.

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