This ain't Vietnam. It's not the Pusan perimeter. It is not Bastonge or Tarawa. We're occupying a country where there are many terrorists. It is dangerous, and there is some fighting, but most of the dying is not done by remote control. It's tough to justify the Silver Star, Navy Cross or CMOH in this environment. There are PLENTY of Bronze Star w/V-devices being awarded.
Maybe if it was allowed to be fought like WWII, it would be mostly over by now.
The problem is precedent. If a soldier earns a MOH for jumping on a grenade to save his buddies in Vietnam, why doesn't a soldier today who does the same thing not get a MOH.
Awards are a big morale issue. I have no doubt you have lower enlisted soldiers who are doing supply runs throughout Iraq. They rotate home and don't get an award, but a staff officer at Battalion and Brigade will get a Bronze Star even though they never left the compound.
We had this issue back in the first Gulf war. Another LT thought my boss deserved his Silver Star for the great job he did. I said my boss is the S3 of the battalion, all those great jobs he did are his duties as the S3. He did his job. He did a great job and it should reflect on his OER but as for the award, I didn't think so.
As for being as bad as Vietnam, I cant answer that. I'm sure we might have a soldier on FR who has been to Vietnam and Iraq.
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