I also know of some cases in which Soldiers/Marines/Airmen repeatedly exposed themselves to enemy fire to rescue commrades. Sometimes three or four times in a single firefight. They were awarded Silver Stars or DSCs. The USAF Para rescue member who was running with the Rangers during Operation Anaconda, early on in Afghanistan, comes to mind.
While I have the utmost respect for this man's gallantry under fire, I'm not seeing MOH material here unless there is more to the citation. I'm hoping there is more. I don't want to feel like this is a political contrivance to allow BO some face time during a photo op. My wife always tells me I'm a cynic.
Prior to any flames telling me I don't have the right to make the above comment, I have served in combat, and been shot at; many times in fact.
Well, I guess you can write your congressman about your concerns, Gum. Too bad you weren't in the chain of approval for his award, then you could have put the kid in for an AAM with V-device...
I think those V-device bronze stars and so forth that we've both seen awarded might have sometimes merited something higher.
I have a pet peeve toward what I've seen as 'rank appropriate' awards given. I'm delighted to see a (then) Specialist receive this award, and I think there are others out there who deserved the same but their chain of command didn't have the cohones to follow through, or their chain of command had rank-based award criteria that they followed.
Piss on that. I don't care if it was a private, or a teats-on-a-boar-hog sergeant major, or a staff puke major, that did something heroic - by God let's give them their due.
If you take a look at history, you'll find that the CMH awardees through the years have gotten slimmer and slimmer. Our soldiers/Marines/sailors/airmen haven't changed. The only thing that's changed is jealous generals who can't get such an award and lazy ass staff officers (adjutants) who won't see such a thing through.
Dammit. These kids are doing great things and shame on us if we don't recognize them for it.
Kit.
USA, OEF, OIF, OEF, OIF
Been there, done that.
The Medal of Honor is being under awarded. Until now there has not been a living recipient for an action since 1972. Every award has been posthumous. You cannot tell me that in the conflicts since 1972 there are not living American servicemen who have not met the following criteria:
“[Conspicuous] gallantry and intrepidity at the risk of his or her life above and beyond the call of duty while engaged in an action against any enemy of the United States; while engaged in military operations involving conflict with an opposing foreign force; or while serving with friendly foreign forces engaged in an armed conflict against an opposing armed force in which the United States is not a belligerent party.”
The DOD bureaucracy has been downgrading worthy recipients and only allowing posthumous awards to go through. Just compare the awards of the Medal of Honor versus the Victoria Cross (which has effectively the same standard for an award) for the war since 9/11:
Victoria Cross:
Living: 3
Posthumous: 1
Medal of Honor:
Living: 1
Posthumous: 7
Given the numbers of Commonwealth (UK, Australia, Canada, and New Zealand) service members in action versus the number of American service members in action, our troops are getting screwed by our own Department of Defence.