Posted on 08/10/2012 10:16:32 AM PDT by jazusamo
Questions surround Army captain’s ‘lost’ nomination for Medal of Honor
WASHINGTON ---- Like other U.S. trainers with the Afghan force that day, former Army Capt. William Swenson had expected light resistance. Instead, the contingent walked into a furious six-hour gunfight with Taliban ambushers in which Swenson repeatedly charged through intense fire to retrieve wounded and dead.
The 2009 battle of Ganjgal is perhaps the most remarkable of the Afghan war for its extraordinary heroism and deadly incompetence. It produced dozens of casualties, career-killing reprimands and a slew of commendations for valor. They included two Medal of Honor nominations, one for Swenson.
Yet months after the first living Army officer in about 40 years was put in for the nation’s highest military award for gallantry, his nomination vanished into a bureaucratic black hole. The U.S. military in Afghanistan said an investigation had found that it was “lost” in the approval process, something that several experts dismissed as improbable, saying that hasn’t happened since the awards system was computerized in the mid-1970s.
~snip~
Interviewed by military investigators five days after the battle, Swenson implicitly criticized top U.S. commanders in Afghanistan by blasting their rules of engagement. Angered that his repeated calls for artillery and air support were denied during the ambush, he charged that in trying to prevent civilian casualties for political reasons, the rules were costing U.S. soldiers' lives.
~snip~
"I understand the necessity of saving as many lives as I can," he said, according to the transcript. "Unfortunately, this is combat. I can't be perfect, but I can do what I feel what's right at the time. When I am being second-guessed by higher or somebody that's sitting in an air-conditioned TOC (tactical operations center), well, hell, why am I even out there? Let's just ... sit back and play Nintendo."
(Excerpt) Read more at nctimes.com ...
Interesting ‘lost’ MOH Ping!
The truth is that he probably pizztof somebody in his chain of command.
There’s little doubt that’s what happened.
Interesting,jaz. I remember when this ambush/battle was reported....it was an example of how the ROE’s had changed in Afghanistan. It’s only gotten worse over time.
Interesting that Patraeus name was mentioned....that’s where my mind went first.
Expecting honor, or honors, from the people in charge now is foolish.
Thanks for the ping!
This leaves no doubt why it was lost. The how and the who are missing.
Thisman should get his medal, I hope if he deos it is presented to him by someone other than Obama.
Wow. Can’t embarrass the jackass with RoE noise.
Anyone, Obama already had his MoH photo-op, so there’s really no need to pursue this any further. /s
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