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Has The Navy Gone Geedunk Crazy?
- Thread starter Redux
- Start date
Indeed it is unbelievable. Others did. Wifemate received from the Polish Government a Cold War Victory medal. She, on-air personality State Run TV in Warsaw, fled Poland in 1981 while on official travel to US. She immediately became an on-air personality on VOA radio, providing lots of support for Solidarity. Still going strong as TV producer within VOA.
Back in the day some of us wore our top two or three ribbons, personal type awards, leaving the other "general awards" at home. I see the same on occasional visits to the E Ring. Warfare pin and two or three ribbons..
We lost a Chief (of Naval Operations) over the medal issue did we not?
Top three is the only way to fly. All the other stuff just gets caught by your seatbelt.
The AM can also be for a specific act, which I'd argue is more "valuable" (at least to me) than a Strike Flight AM. Keep in mind, though, that not everyone has the same awarding authority. I have a NAM that should probably be an AM due to what we did, but it's far easier for the CO of a ship to issue a "candy" NAM than have his Air Medal routed through the chain of command, with the associated delay...not to mention pointing out his lack of planning as a CO for "forecasted" conditions. Still, though, it was a sweet flight and a pretty nice piece of job satisfaction, no matter what "Captain Insano" thought.
Yes we did, all over that teeny little "V" device. What a waste... so unnecessary!
The V being worn illegally was a common mistake early on in Vietnam. Unintionally, many just assumed that a NMCM and NMAM came with that medal, if it was awarded for an actual combat strike. But that device is only legal when the citation states "The combat distinguishing device is authorized"! I believe it was mainly an innocent mistake, not realizing that sentence meaning, or thinking that it only applied to a non-combat award of those medals.
BzB
I believe that poor man was troubled by other, larger (for him) issues.Yes we did, all over that teeny little "V" device. What a waste... so unnecessary!
Have a friend with who earned his NAM (w/ Combat V for Valor) clearing suspected mines under fire after passing Safwan Hill in the initial push...I've also stood in a formation where a Marine was awarded a NAM because after 9/11 they plussed up security at the bases - and he had to hand out extra rifles for all the extra post standers. (As one of those post standers, doing 12 on/12 off for a few months stateside, I was certainly excited to see that Marine recognized in such a fashion).
FWIW, Wikipedia's BSM Entry backs you up. The Bronze Star Medal has been very marginalized by the fact that literally ANYONE serving in a combat zone can get it, regardless of their actual mission (looking at you Combat Finance). That wiki entry actually mentions a few stories of the USAF handing them out under pretty dubious circumstances. I actually know two Marines that have asked NOT to be awarded a BSM because of that very reason, and they didn't feel that they did enough in combat to deserve it.
FWIW, Wikipedia's BSM Entry backs you up. The Bronze Star Medal has been very marginalized by the fact that literally ANYONE serving in a combat zone can get it, regardless of their actual mission (looking at you Combat Finance). That wiki entry actually mentions a few stories of the USAF handing them out under pretty dubious circumstances. I actually know two Marines that have asked NOT to be awarded a BSM because of that very reason, and they didn't feel that they did enough in combat to deserve it.
Recall reading some articles about USAF awarding bronze stars for finance operations in Iraq. Surprised to find out bronze stars can be handed out for non-combat actions.
http://www.airforcetimes.com/articl...01/Tech-sgts-take-heat-after-receiving-medals
Would think an AF equivalent COM or MSM would be more appropriate then a bronze star.
http://www.airforcetimes.com/articl...01/Tech-sgts-take-heat-after-receiving-medals
Would think an AF equivalent COM or MSM would be more appropriate then a bronze star.
exNavyOffRec
Well-Known Member
I was thinking about how many of the guys who were in combat don't come home with a BSM yet alone anything, but then I thought for those that have been in combat I am guessing coming home alive beats any award they could get.
That was a real shame. It did seem like an innocent or unknowing mistake. I thought E-1 to CNO was a greater story than a "v" which you can't see from more than 10 feet away.
Pags: "Top three is the only way to fly. All the other stuff just gets caught by your seatbelt."
I'm with you on that. My beef is that we're giving North Korean Generals a run for their money. Unseemly.
Unfortunately it seems to be an arms race with ever increasing numbers of ribbons and medals for nothing other than possessing a heartbeat and no attendant risk, exertion, or excellence required for the award.
BTW, the pistol and rifle ribbon medal I would say has a long history in the armed forces starting at least 100 years ago.
Concur. Both were the second and third decos I ever had. I felt pretty proud of them. Had to actually do something to earn them.
Much akin to the USMC shooting devices, which I gather are still held in some high regard.
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LET73
Well-Known Member
Yeah, my pistol and rifle ribbons are a couple of the few I actually earned, as opposed to the four ribbons/medals just for showing up in Afghanistan. Most people probably realize that the campaign and unit awards don't mean much, and I'd hesitate to read too much into someone's multiple NAMs, or a Bronze Star without a V. What bothers me is the "he's [x rank], so he gets [y medal]." That completely takes away from the point of personal awards.