Military Awards

[mikewint]

there is a thread here about the law against faking having a military medal. I've been reading that post and doing a lot of thinking. I have a gut reaction but then my brain kicks in.
I want to ask all of you the same question I asked in that thread:
What does a military award and/or medal really stand for or signify?

I have my own opinion but i am very interested in your feelings

 

[Night Fighter Nut]

My thought is that it's someone else's recognition for something you did or someplace you have been. Take an EIB or an EFMB, you complete the testing to standard and the Army gives you something to recognize that accomplishment. You travel overseas and they give you a ribbon to recognize that you were there.

 

[parsifal]

my opinion...recognition of service beyond the call of duty, usually with elevated risk to the peron who receives that medal

 

[Night Fighter Nut]

You would think that that is how it should be. Unfortunately there are some services, depending on the country, that give ribbons/medals for just showing up to some location. The military overseas ribbon comes to mind, along with the good conduct medal for not getting into trouble every three years. Nothing outstanding performed, you were just there.

 

[Colin1]

Unfortunately
most of our Alvarez' and what have you are not falsely proclaiming themselves to be holders of the Overseas Medal. If an individual chooses to do this, he is stealing the sacrifice of the genuine article for precisely zero outlay, I don't understand how any administration, however looney-liberal, cannot see this as anything but repulsive.

The extended effect of allowing this kind of behaviour is one best not contemplated, if the genuine article sees that just anyone can declare themselves to be war veterans without any grounds for such a claim, then the said genuine article might just consider what the point is of any future dedication or worst case, sacrifice.

Not just anyone can jump into a foxhole with a gun and hold the line - especially not Alvarez and co.

 

[DerAdlerIstGelandet]

A military award can come from different things such as Service or Valor. It can mean different things to each and every person.

Each and every award that I received means something to me. I have some for service and some for specific actions, I am proud of every single one of them.

 

[diddyriddick]

That is an excellent question, Mike. The oath that all inductees take says "I will support and defend the Constitution of the United States against all enemies, foreign and domestic...." It seems to me that our military men fight as much for the ideals that we hold dear every bit as much as they fight for the physical freedom of our country. When soldiers are decorated, they are recognized for the superior function of all their duties, including those which might not be as palatable as we like.

Like everyone on this thread, that idiot made me want to vomit. But infringing on peoople's self-expression is more troubling to me.

In my view, the only thing more dangerous than flag-burners and morons claiming cherished military awards is the precedent that we set if we try to restrict them. Where else can people have so much freedom to be so dead wrong?

 

[Colin1]

But infringing on peoople's self-expression is more troubling to me

I've never regarded self-expression and a cry for attention as having much in common...

 

[DerAdlerIstGelandet]

I think I misunderstood the question...

 

[Colin1]

...the only thing more dangerous than flag-burners and morons claiming cherished military awards...

Do they actually belong in the same category?
One has admittedly pretty radical anti-foreign policy (for example) views and is exercising his/her right to voice those views and the other is a weasel fraudster silently undermining the achievement and sacrifice of those who would step into the firing line in the name of that foreign policy.

 

[timshatz]

To the outside world, a decoration signifies bravery, valor and any other number of heroic virtues.

To the military world, it usually signifies the same and also that the individual involved, if he is still living, is very, very lucky.

 

[RabidAlien]

Do they actually belong in the same category?
One has admittedly pretty radical anti-foreign policy (for example) views and is exercising his/her right to voice those views and the other is a weasel fraudster silently undermining the achievement and sacrifice of those who would step into the firing line in the name of that foreign policy.

Agreed.

To me, the medals/ribbons/awards are there to signify an accomplishment. You get a degree for graduating highschool/college, which in and of itself is just a piece of paper. It has no value on its own. Its what that piece of paper represents is what is important. Medals/ribbons are the same. Whether its as basic as signifying the fact that you've made it through three years of military service without getting caught doing something naughty, or that you did something incredibly brave/foolhardy and ended up singlehandedly saving the arses of your fellow soldiers and/or winning the battle, they all signify something (with, of course, varying degrees of importance). I'm sure that if you found someone claiming to have the same degree that you spent four or more years sweating over, only to find out that they had never stepped foot on a college campus anywhere, it would make you angry. It cheapens the honor that you have worked so hard to attain. So what are ribbons/medals worth? Honestly, they're worth about $.75, depending on the fabric used. Their significance is priceless.

 

[mikewint]

OK guys, I've done a lot of thinking about this one. I apologize to anyone I offend or anger by my views. That having been said here is where my head is on this:
Military awards have become a bit like Woodstock. Ask around and from the responses you will get there must have been about 5 million people there.
I started out by asking myself what a military award actually signified. I decided that it could mean everything or practically nothing. For example:
I received my CIB after about 3 weeks in country. We were diddly-boping down a jungle trail in a "secure area" when we turned a corner and ran into a VC patrol. We both stood there and looked at each other for a few seconds. Then we both turned and ran in the opposite direction, wildly firing at nothing in particular. Was that combat? Answer: Yes, enemy, shots fired, one CIB. Initially I refused to wear it.
Every soldier who was in Vietnam received a bronze star. This included front-line combat troops, cooks, mechanics, office clerks, and analyst-types that never left their air-conditioned offices in Saigon. True some of them received some pretty severe paper-cuts! So what does having a bronze star really say about the person wearing it.
Many of my SF brothers carried out their missions well behind enemy lines in Laos and/or Cambodia with little or no support under conditions of such secrecy that MOH write-ups were generally down-graded to silver stars and I personally had a silver star write-up downgraded to an army commendation medal. I refused it.
It was tough to get into parachute training because many officer career-types saw the road to advancement in having those wings. After their 5th qualifying jump they never put a chute on again. 5-Jump-Chumps as we called them. Now I only made 2 more but that was the nature of the country
In 1973 the Army granted the 82nd the right to wear the maroon beret. SF called it the Great Beret Giveaway. The reason being that, EVERYONE got the beret, cooks, clerks, etc. they just had to be in the 82nd. Now I have no problem with elite troops being recognized for their eliteness. The green beret comes after a year or more of intensive training (3 years for a Medic). Without that training and testing there is no green beret handed over because you were assigned to an SF unit. An airborne combat trooper should be recognized but a clerk with no jump wings simply assigned to the 82nd ?
Likewise the black beret and ranger tab can be worn by anyone assigned to the 75th whether or not they've had actual "ranger" training or not.
Now, you've got to be a total moron to claim an MOH without actually having one as this is one award that is closely regulated and lists are published. It is also the only medal you cannot purchase. So what did this idiot gain? Except to reveal himself to the entire country as a total fool. I've known several MOH recipients. They are quiet and shy about it and I've never heard any one of them brag about it
All this is of my personal knowledge at the time so is any of this is not corrent i also apologize. no offense intended to anyone