Posted on 12/16/2005 6:09:22 AM PST by pabianice
Thought you guys would like to see this. We took fire daily aboard our aircraft in Vietnam and got bupkis. I guess this is part of the "award inflation" we've been hearing about.
Roy
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Crew from the amphibious assault ship Kearsarge and dock landing ship Ashland have been awarded the combat action ribbon for an Aug. 19 incident in Aqaba, Jordan, according to Navy information. While Kearsarge and Ashland were tied up pierside in port, a rocket flew over Ashland’s bow and past Kearsarge, hitting a nearby warehouse. The Katyusha rocket killed a Jordanian soldier and wounded another who were standing watch on the pier.
Two other rockets launched over the harbor. One landed in Israel and the other near a Jordanian hospital.
Islamic militants claimed responsibility.
No Americans were hurt and no equipment sustained damage.
Kearsarge and Ashland were in the area for Infinite Moonlight, an exercise with the 26th Marine Expeditionary Unit and Jordanian military.
The ships had been in port seven days prior to the attack.
According to Navy rules, anyone assigned to the ship’s crew at the time of the incident is entitled to wear the combat ribbon.
“Robust” force protection measures were credited with saving the ships from direct attack.
Senior Chief Dave Nagle, public affairs officer on Kearsarge, said Navy and Jordanian force protection in port were critical.
“Those measures really put the terrorists in a position where they had to launch their rockets from outside of town,” he said.
Aqaba was the most serious attack on an American warship since October 2000, when the destroyer Cole was hit by suicide bombers in Yemen.
My first Combat Action ribbon was awarded for a similar situation. Our ship, the USS Iwo Jima took fire from an anti-ship missle during the 1st gulf war. The ships sea-wiz guns took care of both incoming missles. We were all awarded the CAR. I was just an embarked Marine and had nothing to do with the action. My second CAR was well earned in Somalia and for which I am most proud. I've always considered the first one a gimme.
Semper Fidelis
(Self-)Esteem enhancement. Some of the crew likely had to change their pads. They'll never get to experience shitting themselves from fear...and still running towards the 'fight'.
"The Combat Action Ribbon is a personal decoration awarded to members of the Navy, Marine Corps, and Coast Guard (when operating under the control of the Navy) in the grade of captain (or colonel in the Marine Corps) and below who have actively participated in ground or surface combat."
The sailors in question appear to qualify for this award in that they took fire from an enemy force. The criteria is not whether the combat action was more or less intense than any other action. With all due respect to Roy, I remember when the Vietnam veterans were complaining that they were disrespected by some World War II veterans and generally unappreciated. Generally, soldiers/sailors don't get to pick their war.
LSD 48 U.S.S. Ashland was the ship my gunner's mate daughter was assigned to. Her husband was with the FMF on board as well. They were both pissed off when they heard about that attack on their former ship.
Let me get this straight. Someone fires a missile that misses a Navy ship, the sailors get the same medal that a Marine gets for room to room, house to house, hand to hand fighting in Fallujah and Ramadi.
But, I'm secure enough in my manhood not to impugn vets of other services, except in the name of friendly rivalry.
Really? You're not mature enough.
Oh, brother.
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