House members are taking issue with a new Defense Department medal’s prominence in the hierarchy of military awards.
The Pentagon announced last month the creation of a new medal to adapt to a new era of technological warfare — and reward drone operators for well-placed strikes.
The Distinguished Warfare Medal will be awarded to service members whose extraordinary achievements, regardless of their distance to the traditional combat theater, deserve distinct department-wide recognition.
“I have seen first-hand how modern tools like remotely piloted platforms and cyber systems have changed the way wars can be fought,” said former Secretary of Defense Leon Panetta at the time. “We should also have the ability to honor extraordinary actions that make a true difference in combat operations, even if those actions are physically removed from the fight.”
But House Armed Services Subcommittee on Military Personnel Chairman Joe Wilson (R-S.C.) and 48 other lawmakers asked new Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel to reconsider the DoD decision to place it above the Bronze Star and Purple Heart in the order of precedence.
Several Democrats signed the letter, including Iraq War combat veteran and double amputee Rep. Tammy Duckworth (D-Ill.).
“We are supportive of recognizing and rewarding such extraordinary service but in the absence of the service member exposing him or herself to imminent mortal danger, we cannot support the DWM taking precedence above the Bronze Star and Purple Heart,” the lawmakers wrote.
“The current order of precedence for the DWM is a disservice to Purple Heart recipients who have made the ultimate sacrifice for our Country or were wounded while serving in combat. The imminent danger area requirement of the Bronze Star historically means that a service member has been deployed overseas for a military operation involving conflict with an opposing armed force,” they continued.
The lawmakers asked Hagel to “lower the precedence of the DWM to an appropriate level below the Bronze Star and Purple Heart.”
Wilson said the precedence of the new medal “does a disservice to our service members and veterans who have severed overseas in hostile and austere conditions.”
“It is my hope that Secretary Hagel will change the Department’s decision so that our veterans who have earned the Bronze Star and Purple Heart will receive the appropriate recognition they deserve,” Wilson said.
So why in the heck is DOD creating yet another medal for outstanding service? Medals used to mean actual meritorious achievement, now medals are almost a given at the end of every tour...
There's no personal danger i being a drone pilot. Therefore...
One wonders why that appears to be a "Rocket Science" concept.
The military awards medals in two basic categories, merit and valor. Your article doesn't really address that issue, so I'm not sure if this proposed medal is intended to fall in the former or latter category.
To confuse things a bit more, some medals, like the mentioned Bronze Star, can be awarded for merit or, with the addition of the "V" device, for valor.
In these days of "Everybody gets a trophy", I'm not overly surprised that a new qualifying category would emerge. I think that my recommendation would have been for a "Distinguished Tubefare Medal" though.
Back during my all-expense-paid tour of sunny Southeast Asia, there was a brouhaha about the entitlement to combat pay with those in the actual combat arms branches, Infantry, Artillery, and Armor, being more than somewhat miffed that the rest of the military (sometimes referred to as "clerks and jerks") not only got it but got the same amount. So, I sit with somewhat bated breath, awaiting developments on that front.
But seriously, we need to keep in mind that the bad uys are also going to have drones some day. We need to be thinking about the RoEs and the oral implications of drones controlled from a distance.
It must be like the best video game in the world. What would be required to remove all inhibition from a government operator, playing Drone Strike 3D, so that he would be willing to operate within CONUS?
Like I said, you reward the behavior you want more of.
I'm not saying that their actions aren't necessary, but they're not being shot at or bleeding out from wounds and the worst that can happen is eye strain and butt sores with the occasional carpal tunnel flareup.