Posted on 02/17/2003 1:00:49 PM PST by W04Man
I can't believe Hannity is allowing Col Hackworth (Ret) to run down the Active Duty Military again. Talking about some devective "protective gear", if you get my drift. Why would he continue to spew out all this crap that will be swollowed up by our enemies? Why doesn't Hannity get the story from the Active Duty people? If there really is a problem, why give the info to our enemy?????
(Excerpt) Read more at hannity.com ...
I have to conclude he has a self serving reason of doing so and I dont think it's productive . I'll give him the respect he is clearly due based on his past but the last 5 years or so I take issue with .
Here are quotes from Hackworth’s January 21, 1991 Newsweek cover story article:
“Casualties won’t be 200 Americans dead a week, as in Vietnam. They will be more than 200 dead an hour in the first round.”
“The aircraft arranged in the Gulf are the wrong mix of aircraft”
“The Iraqis should give a good account of themselves in air attacks.”
“The Abrams M-1A1 tank is a fuel guzzler and a real liability in a roadless terrain”
“For the most part, from rifleman to battalion commander, these dedicated (American) soldiers and Marines have never seen war. And in my judgment they haven’t yet been made hard enough physically and mentally to survive the horror of potential combat with Iraq’s veteran Army.”
As it turned out, Iraq was totally routed at a cost of 137 U.S. dead for the entire war.
Since you put it that way...
And that's your opinion.
My opinion comes from the words of a CNO,Adm. Elmo R. Zumwalt Jr.
Until someone produces the regulation that defines the requirements for the "V" device on a ribbon in the Vietnam era Navy, we will have to agree to disagree on our opinions.
I do find it peculiar your position that American service men and women serving on combat ships can not be recognized for duty in a combat zone.
Do you maintain this postion towards only those that served in the waters off of Vietnam, or do you apply the same standards to the men that served in the Navy and participated in the Battle of Midway?
Do you apply the same standard to Navy personnel that served in the Persian Gulf in Gulf War I?
Would you apply the same standard to men and women serving aboard warships in the Gulf and who will soon likely be in combat?
To all:
Does anyone know if any "V" devices were awarded to Navy personnel for service in the Persian Gulf on a warship?
Bite me,moron. If you have of paid the slightest bit of attention (assuming you CAN,that is)to things I have written about Hackworth,you would know he is only slightly above you and Ali Bubba Bush in my esteem. Which isn't saying much,since the two of you are right down there with Wesley Clark,Bubba-1,Bubbette!,the Kennedy's,etc.
Then again,Hackworth is obviously going senile. What are the excuses YOU and Ali Bubba have for spouting the nonsense you spout?
The only source for the claim "Most Decorated War Hero" is Hackworth himself.
First, all who have known real heros, know heros do not go around making ridiculous claims like this.
The U.S. Army disputes such a claim and when asked the Army spokesman explained it would be impossible to make such a designation because you can't compare the Medal of Honor to other medals, so the Army would dispute any man claiming he is the "Most Decorated War Hero"especially one who never received the Medal of Honor.
Since your buddy wants to make the claim, why don't you ask him to post a copy of the DD-214. Of course he doesn't have to. But then again he didn't have to invent a new decoration for himself, the Most Decorated War Hero Medal.
The Army does not recognize, and has never recognized, the title. According to an Army memo, "It has been a long-standing and unwritten policy of the Army that no single soldier or veteran is ever named officially as the most decorated person in a conflict or in a particular period of time." The Army did not even keep a central medal database until the mid-1970s. It has never searched through its millions of individual records to find top medal winners.
But let us suppose that Hackworth is the soldier who has earned the most medals, which is possible. Would that make him "America's most decorated living soldier"?
Again, no. The Army rejects the concept of "most decorated soldier" for fear that someone would do exactly what Hackworth is doing. Medals are not equal. The Medal of Honor, which Hackworth never won, is by far the most important award. "Statistical comparison, if possible, could allow a recipient of many awards to surpass a soldier with the Medal of Honor," says the Army memo, and this, the Army makes clear, is not acceptable. There are more than 200 living Medal of Honor winners. All of them, in the eyes of most military men, trump Hackworth. Hackworth's claim is puffery.
SECNAVINST 1650.1G
Chapter 2 - MILITARY DECORATIONS
Section 1 - GENERAL
210. DEFINITION. A military decoration is an award bestowed on an individual for a specific act or acts of gallantry or meritorious service.
2-26 13. Navy and Marine Corps Achievement Medal (NA)
a. Authorization. SECNAVINST 1650.16 of 1 May 1961, re-designated by SECNAVNOTE of 17 July 1967. On 19 August 1994, the SECNAV changed the name of the award to Navy and Marine Corps Achievement Medal.
b. Eligibility Requirements. Awarded to members of the Armed Forces, including members of Reserve components on active or inactive duty, of the grade of lieutenant commander/major and junior thereto, for service performed on or after 1 May 1961. The award shall be given for meritorious service or achievement in a combat or non-combat situation based on sustained performance or specific achievement of a superlative nature, and shall be of such merit as to warrant more tangible recognition than is possible by a fitness report or performance evaluation, but which does not warrant a Navy and Marine Corps Commendation Medal or higher.
(1) Professional achievement that merit the NA must:
(a) Clearly exceed that which is normally required or expected, considering the individual's grade or rate, training, and experience; and
(b) Be an important contribution of benefit to the United States and the Naval Service.
(2) Leadership Achievement that merit the NA must:
(a) Be noteworthy;
(b) Be sustained so as to demonstrate a high state of development or, if for a specific achievement, be of such merit as to earn singular recognition for the act(s); and SECNAVINST 1650.1G
(c) Reflect most creditably on the efforts of the individual toward the accomplishment of the unit mission.
d. Combat Distinguishing Device. During the Vietnam era the Combat Distinguishing Device was authorized for service subsequent to 17 July 1967 and discontinued in April 1974; it was reauthorized on 17 January 1991.
Navy and Marine Corps Achievement Medal
Combat Distinguishing Device. During the Vietnam era the Combat Distinguishing Device was authorized for service subsequent to 17 July 1967 and discontinued in April 1974; it was reauthorized on 17 January 1991
2-25
12. Navy and Marine Corps Commendation Medal (NC)
a. Authorization. ALNAV 11 of 11 January 1944 authorized the Navy Commendation Ribbon, and on 22 March 1950, the SECNAV established the medal pendant for this award. On 21 September 1960, the SECNAV changed the name of the award to the Navy Commendation Medal. On 19 August 1994, the SECNAV changed the name of the award to Navy and Marine Corps Commendation Medal.
b. Eligibility Requirements. Awarded to a person who, while serving in any capacity with the Navy or Marine Corps (including foreign military personnel), distinguishes himself/ herself after 6 December 1941 by heroic or meritorious achievement or service. To merit this award, the acts or services must be accomplished or performed in a manner above that normally expected and sufficient to distinguish the individual above those performing similar services as set forth in the following:
(1) For Acts of Heroism. Worthy of special recognition, but not to the degree required for the Bronze Star Medal when combat is involved or the Navy and Marine Corps Medal when combat is not involved.
(2) For Meritorious Achievement. Outstanding and worthy of special recognition, but not to the degree required for the Bronze Star Medal or Air Medal when combat is involved or the Meritorious Service Medal or Air Medal when combat is not involved. The achievement should be such as to constitute a definite contribution to the Naval Service, such as an invention, or improvement in design, procedure or organization.
(3) For Meritorious Service. Outstanding and worthy of special recognition, but not to the degree required for the Bronze Star Medal or Air Medal when combat is involved or the Meritorious Service Medal or Air Medal when combat is not involved. The award may cover an extended period of time during which a higher award may have been recommended or received for specific act(s). The criteria, however, should not be the period of service involved, but rather the circumstances and conditions under which the service was performed. The performance should be well above that usually expected of an individual commensurate with his or her grade or rate, and above that SECNAVINST 1650.1G degree of excellence which can be appropriately reflected in the individual's fitness report, performance evaluations or personnel records.
c. Combat Distinguishing Device. The Combat Distinguishing Device may be authorized for valor (heroism).
http://www.navy.mil/homepages/cvn69/IKE%20WEB%20PAGE/Chain%20of%20Command.htm
Commander, Naval Air Force U.S. Atlantic Fleet, Rear Admiral James M. Zortman
four Navy and Marine Corps Commendation Medals (two with Combat Distinguishing Device),
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