After arriving at ACSC, I began hearing what a cluster the whole Kosovo air war had been from my buddies from Europe with targets being selected at 1600 Penn Ave, D.C., only after approval from the French only to be missed by incompetent aircrews due to all the cuts in training and all the contingency flying. Anyway, none of this could upset my newly found "no worries" attitude and I just chalked it up the crazy political times.
Then some of my close fighter brethren relayed to me the medal frenzy - it went something like this: If you supported the operation from Missouri, England or Aviano and you're a LtCol - you get a Bronze Star.
If you saw a Surface to Air missile in flight - you apply for a DFC. If you threat reacted - you're a shoe-in. Each wing gets a Silver Star to distribute - What, a fucking lottery for a Silver Star? My buds told me it became fighter wing versus fighter wing versus bomber wing to see which wing commander could win the most Kosovo Olympic Gold. You either jumped on the team bandwagon or you were considered against it.
It further inbred worse since it was primarily an Air Force show - therefore our LtCols with their Bronze Stars could outperform the other services when competing for those hallowed joint jobs - You Gotta Be Shitting Me! The service with the motto "Integrity in all we do" is mortaging its dignity to promote its manufactured self image.
Sorry this litany is so long - I'd love to see an article comparing all the sorties of WWII - pilot KIA in WWII - to the DFC ratio of WWII and then compared to the Kosovo debacle.
As a closing note, there is an Army Ranger in my ACSC class who lost his kneecap and another chunk of his leg in Somalia - I don't know what decorations he received along with his Purple Heart from that event, but I am embarrassed to look him in the eye as we pass in the hallway thinking of the medal charade we paraded out of our last demonstration of impotence and the real sacrifice he and his brothers made on the ground.
