Time to reform the Pentagon’s award system There has been a jarring addition to U.S. military uniforms since the end of World War II. Seventy years ago, high-ranking officers wore relatively few ribbons or medals — and awards for valor were rare. Go back farther to the Civil War, and it was common for officers to not wear military decorations at all. But for the modern officer, it’s now possible to perform one’s duties without being a hero and still have a chest full of ribbons that are indecipherable to all but the most dedicated students of phaleristics. Most of all, the...
