Pentagon Considers Awarding Drone Pilots Combat Medals

[Neil]

You know, I wonder what it would do to a people long-term, living under the constant and random threat of assassination via missile.  It's like a horror movie or something.

[The Minsky Moment]

You know, I wonder what it would do to a people long-term, living under the constant and random threat of assassination via missile.  It's like a horror movie or something.

There's a name for that:  Israeli.

[fhdz]

ACHIEVEMENT UNLOCKED

[Ideologue]

Wow. Gramps got a bronzie for charging a machine gun nest at Anzio and saving his squad. Jumped up on top of the pillbox and tossed grenades in. I guess he'd get a MoH today.

Now let's be fair, he probably saved himself too.

Anyway, drone pilots kill people.  Killing people is (probably?) hard, even and maybe especially if you are not yourself threatened.

[dps]

You know, I wonder what it would do to a people long-term, living under the constant and random threat of assassination via missile.  It's like a horror movie or something.

Ironic considering that their immediate goals involve making us live in fear.

[CountDeMoney]

Wow. Gramps got a bronzie for charging a machine gun nest at Anzio and saving his squad. Jumped up on top of the pillbox and tossed grenades in. I guess he'd get a MoH today.

Now let's be fair, he probably saved himself too.

Selfish bastard.

[Alcibiades]

A medal that isn't for valor is an insult to people who receive other medals which are for valor?

This. A medal like this will be just another ribbon.
Nobody is gonna give a fart about a UAV medal.
You realize the Army gives medals for being top 20% of the class on schools, or the faster runner in a 10 km run, or even just for moving to a diferent base. It is call the Army Achievement Medal, lower than the Army Commendation Medal. The first "real" medal in the Army is the Bronze Star, and then only when given with the V device for valor.

I don't see why a UAV pilot can't get one for being the best at what he does.

Psh, my Arcom with Valor begs to differ.     


I will agree, though, that most non-combat awards are a joke.  Give out regular bronze stars like candy now-a-days.

[dps]

My brother got a campaign ribbon for Gulf War I.  He was an electronics repairment on a sub tender docked at La Madd.  To top it off, even if the ship had ever left port and actually gone to the Gulf, he was part of the stay-behind detachment.

[Neil]

You know, I wonder what it would do to a people long-term, living under the constant and random threat of assassination via missile.  It's like a horror movie or something.

There's a name for that:  Israeli.

Not the same.  The Israelis can retaliate, and could easily solve the problem permanently.  The terrorizers and their families can only endure.

[Martinus]

I'm of two minds on this.

On one hand, it is kinda silly to reward some soldiers and not the others.

On the other hand, if you get medals for just doing well in a situation where you are not risking your life, then why give medals to these soldiers, and not to a civilian surgeon who does very well in the surgery room?

[dps]

I'm of two minds on this.

On one hand, it is kinda silly to reward some soldiers and not the others.

On the other hand, if you get medals for just doing well in a situation where you are not risking your life, then why give medals to these soldiers, and not to a civilian surgeon who does very well in the surgery room?

The armed services do give out awards and medals for doing well in non-combat duties.  They don't give them to civilians (normally) for the same reason that if your law firm gives out bonuses, they don't give them to lawyers who work for other firms.

[CountDeMoney]

edalmay ixnayed

Pentagon cancels divisive Distinguished Warfare Medal for cyber ops, drone strikes

The special medal for the Pentagon's drone operators and cyberwarriors didn't last long.

Two months after the military rolled out the Distinguished Warfare Medal for troops who don't set foot on the battlefield, Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel has concluded it was a bad idea. Some veterans and some lawmakers spoke out against the award, arguing that it was unfair to make the medal a higher honor than some issued for valor on the battlefield.

The controversy echoed a broader debate over defense policy, irking those who feel uneasy about the extent to which remote-controlled aircraft have become the tip of America's spear in the war against extremists abroad.

After ordering a review of a policy that was one of his predecessor's last official moves, Hagel said Monday that he concluded no such medal was needed. Instead, he said, a "device" will be affixed to existing medals to recognize those who fly and operate drones, whom he described as "critical to our military's mission of safeguarding the nation."

Devices are used by the Pentagon to add a specific form of additional recognition when troops are lauded for exceptional performance.

The Veterans of Foreign Wars, one of the groups that had been critical of the medal, praised Hagel for promptly taking on the issue.

"This decision will clearly keep medals that can only be earned in combat in their high order of precedence, while providing proper recognition to all who support our warfighters regardless of their distance from the fight," John E. Hamilton, the head of the veterans' group, said in a statement.

Former Secretary of Defense Leon E. Panetta announced the award on Feb. 13, one of his lasts days in office, saying that the evolution of combat warranted a new inclusion for men and women who perform game-changing acts remotely.

"Our military reserves its highest decorations obviously for those who display gallantry and valor in actions when their lives are on the line and we will continue to do so," he said at the time. "But we should also have the ability to honor the extraordinary actions that make a true difference in combat operations."

The Pentagon said no service members had been nominated for the new medal.

[derspiess]

Too bad.  These guys serve a very valuable function that involves killing bad guys and breaking their stuff.   

But whatever-- I suppose they can still recognize their contributions with existing decorations.  And if they make the device a miniature Xbox or Playstation controller, or maybe an old school Atari 2600 joystick, that'd be awesome.