MORE VALOR
- Thread starter BravoHotel
- Start date
FlyingAccountant
Well-Known Member
Should have happened 15 years ago.
Pilot Fighter
Well-Known Member
It's not really a political thing, the nature of war changed and we didn't keep up. Historically, MoH has been a valor "under fire" award.
Lawman
Well-Known Member
People seem to not understand between 9/11 and Vietnam we literally only gave that award to two people… Delta Snipers killed in the line of duty in what could only be described as a suicidal “for this I will sacrifice” scenario during Gothic Serpent.
Since that the award had become almost a must award posthumously status, and it has taken forever to get that awarded in modern scenarios absolutely deserving of it. The famous Kill House Marine SgtMajor citation is absolutely a MOH level execution but it was a Navy cross strictly because he didn’t die in the process.
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FlyingAccountant
Well-Known Member
Somewhere along the line, they created a law that stated that a MOH could only be awarded within 5 years of the actual action which is what hampered Cashe's case after they fumbled it in the first place. They eventually introduced a legislative workaround to get Cashe his well deserved MOH.
Lawman
Well-Known Member
You’ll get no argument from me or for that matter anybody else with an experience that the military Awards and Citations system is completely ridiculous.
Some of the greatest acts of everything from basic above and beyond achievement to absolute valor worthy of historic remembrance go unheralded… meanwhile change a few people in the chain of review or ranks,units, and positions of people’s involved and you’ve got medals being thrown at people.
It’s maddening.
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NovemberEcho
Dergs favorite member
wait, are you saying maybe a Bronze Star for doing finance things when you’re a finance airman may not be the right idea? Especially when back at home base you can’t even get my pay right and I have to research and quote your regs to you because “it’s my responsibility to keep track of your info.”
BravoHotel
Well-Known Member
You're probably kidding, but nothing surprises me any more. They probably filed travel vouchers during a rocket attack. Bam! V device!
NovemberEcho
Dergs favorite member
45th Comptroller Squadron Master Sgt. Racquel Farquharson Awarded Bronze Star Medal - Space Coast Daily
Master Sgt. Racquel Farquharson, 45th Comptroller Squadron financial operations flight chief, was presented with the Bronze Star Medal, January 10, 2020, for meritorious achievement during her deployment. [...]
spacecoastdaily.com
Tech. sgts. take heat after receiving medals
Tech. sgts. take heat after receiving medals
www.militarytimes.com
sweeps
Undercarriage Actuator
I would say being hit by an IED and subsequesnt small arms fire qualifies as under fire
sweeps
Undercarriage Actuator
Wis
Wish he was
Pilot Fighter
Well-Known Member
In trying to figure out why such a heroic act failed to achieve MOH merit, I wondered if it failed some stupid and trivial test, such as direct fire vs hazards as result of direct fire.
There isn't a lack of pedantry in the military.
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sweeps
Undercarriage Actuator
Oh I’m aware of that lol. Figured I mis-read what you said
BravoHotel
Well-Known Member
45th Comptroller Squadron Master Sgt. Racquel Farquharson Awarded Bronze Star Medal - Space Coast Daily
Master Sgt. Racquel Farquharson, 45th Comptroller Squadron financial operations flight chief, was presented with the Bronze Star Medal, January 10, 2020, for meritorious achievement during her deployment. [...]spacecoastdaily.com
Tech. sgts. take heat after receiving medals
Tech. sgts. take heat after receiving medals
Alright, learned something new today. If I remember correctly there was significant in-fighting and bureaucracy upgrading TSgt John Chapman's AF Cross to a MOH.
Lawman
Well-Known Member
The fact he was an E6…
Honestly I’ve seen some just dumb statements by senior leaders in the reviewing chain who downgrade recommended awards even when they aren’t the approval authority. Somewhere in their brain it matters because of some perceived requirement of a specific status to even be considered. “Oh we can’t give a PL/squad leader a silver star. How do they go up from there… bronze with valor. Totally the same thing.”
I’ll give you one better…
The first example of the Norwegian militaries highest honor awarded since WWII happened with a US Army pilot in command. The parent unit scrambled to gin up some awards for other people on the flight since it looked bad they hadn’t even handed out commendation medals to the rest of the crew for the same action.
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dustoff17
Still trying to reach the Top Shelf
@Lawman, I know you've seen these medals/ribbons awarded for stupid things in your career.
During Desert Storm, the entire JAG office personnel staff received a Bronze Star for their "meritorious service" while "working" in the air conditioned office in Kuwait! And years later when I was there, we had an H-60 damaged by enemy fire and had to land. The PIC of chalk two returned, landed in the hot LZ and extracted the entire crew. Chalk 1 PIC was a BN Commander sucka** so his entire crew received a DFC, the PIC of chalk 2, (the one that went in under fire) received an ARCOM with a "V" device.
And when our Detachment awards recommendations came down, we had to sign papers stating that we were "waiving" either the Bronze Star or the Air Medal, etc. Our BD Commander only "authorized" one Medal for "service". The Commander before him was signing anything that crossed his desk!
During Desert Storm, the entire JAG office personnel staff received a Bronze Star for their "meritorious service" while "working" in the air conditioned office in Kuwait! And years later when I was there, we had an H-60 damaged by enemy fire and had to land. The PIC of chalk two returned, landed in the hot LZ and extracted the entire crew. Chalk 1 PIC was a BN Commander sucka** so his entire crew received a DFC, the PIC of chalk 2, (the one that went in under fire) received an ARCOM with a "V" device.
And when our Detachment awards recommendations came down, we had to sign papers stating that we were "waiving" either the Bronze Star or the Air Medal, etc. Our BD Commander only "authorized" one Medal for "service". The Commander before him was signing anything that crossed his desk!
Lawman
Well-Known Member
I had 25th CAB try to give me an Army Achievement Medal with V….
Now given that it doesn’t and more importantly can’t exist, I just said F it, let’s see if this goes through because they already said since we destroyed equipment and no actual people it didn’t rate a commendation medal or aid medal.
The stupidity knows no bounds with the award system.
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Pilot Fighter
Well-Known Member
My father "earned" a Purple Heart in Vietnam that he never wore or acknowledged in any way other than finding humor in the policy.
Navy Spad crews in Vietnam took go-pills prior to launch and prior to landing. Well, to counteract the go-pills crews they were given sleeping pills.
After taking his dose of sleeping pills my father almost slept through a rocket attack. He awoke to find himself alone in the barracks with the air raid siren sounding. He jumped into his flight suit and slipped into his shower shoes and ran to the bunker. Well, he ran as best he could in flip-flops wearing a flight suit unzipped to the waist.
For his clownish evacuation he earned a severely sprained ankle and a minor hairline fracture ... and a Purple Heart. He was flying the next day.
Apparently, the treatment paperwork prepared by the corpsman had a checkbox to indicate whether the injury was a result of enemy action and a box that described the circumstance of the injury.
dustoff17
Still trying to reach the Top Shelf
My Dad was an advisor in the Viet Nam War time Phoenix Program for two-tours. Purple Heart and earned two Bronze Stars. My grandfather was a Purple Heart and Bronze Star awardee as a Commander under LTC Fertig in the Japanese-occupied Philippines during WWII.
I think we dump on the legacy of those before us how we manage awards today.
P.S. My Dad told me that he served with a cook who dove under a table during a motor attack. The cook “landed on a stack of eggs and broke almost all of them with his head”. He ended up getting a Purple Heart after having egg shell removed from his left eye. The paperwork from the hospital showed “…..shell fragment removed from left eye….”. And “…during enemy action…”. BAM! Purple Heart!
I think we dump on the legacy of those before us how we manage awards today.
P.S. My Dad told me that he served with a cook who dove under a table during a motor attack. The cook “landed on a stack of eggs and broke almost all of them with his head”. He ended up getting a Purple Heart after having egg shell removed from his left eye. The paperwork from the hospital showed “…..shell fragment removed from left eye….”. And “…during enemy action…”. BAM! Purple Heart!
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