“Gallagher, an instructor and marksmanship competitor with the Army, spent nearly a year competing before being honored. The competition consists of physical training, battle drills, weapons proficiency, medical tasks and detainee operations”
Soldier of the Year??? Or political correctness in the US Army. Doesn’t appear that the competition includes being in harm’s way or battling enemy combatants.
It depends on what your definition of a "soldier" is. I can't wait till the first JAG officer gets Soldier of the Year for bravery while prosecuting Marines in combat or winning the reinstatement of a gay/lesbian/transgender soldier. Yeah, that's the ticket.
The soldier of the decade was the corpsman who went forward, covered my dad's body while starting two IV's, and the corporal who dragged him back while they tried to find the rest of his leg. Or my Sgt.Maj who was at the Frozen Chosin, Vietnam and is 88 years young and playing racquetball a couple of times a week. He showed me more about being a Marine and a man than anyone other than my father.
Of course neither one of those guys thinks gays should serve openly in the Marines, can't grasp the concept of women in a combat unit and didn't kiss a lot of a## while they were in the Marines.