Old 07-14-2009, 18:26   #1
18D4VRWB
Quiet Professional
 
18D4VRWB's Avatar
 
Join Date: Apr 2008
Location: Tampa, FL
Posts: 22
Where are the MOHs?

I would like to propose a discussion concerning where the heck are some MOH awards from OEF/OIF? It truly seems our brass are afraid to award it? Why? Does everyone have to be killed? Look at the battles with the 173rd in AFG or 10 SFG recently. The Brits have awarded I believe three VCs? Some of these guys have put it on the line and represent the best in the Army.
18D4VRWB is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 07-14-2009, 19:44   #2
dirtyshirt
BANNED USER
 
Join Date: Feb 2009
Location: Under a rock.
Posts: 72
I was wondering the same thing. It seems as if the Army is going out of its way to NOT award them to Army SOF,yet give the few that were awarded to the "conventional" Army (3rd inf off the top of my head),kinda like a morale thing, like the black beret fiasco.

I guess,it is like they want the focus on "regular" soldiers, as if they think SOF is undeserving cuz they are already "special".

This is just how I think they are thinking. But I think it is weird that more MOH's have been awarded in the Army, and it is like SOF has been excluded deliberately.
dirtyshirt is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 07-14-2009, 20:15   #3
kawika
Auxiliary
 
Join Date: Dec 2008
Location: North Carolina
Posts: 86
Alot of that goes into guys not being put in for one. Theres some deserving guys out there(O'Connor is a close one). But for whatever reason we stop it at our level and don't submit the award. USASFC downgrades alot of silver stars even, wonder how many MOH's have crossed the desk?
kawika is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 07-15-2009, 04:06   #4
Richard
Quiet Professional
 
Richard's Avatar
 
Join Date: Aug 2004
Location: NorCal
Posts: 15,370
Bob Howard was put in three times before being awarded the MOH - Zak was awarded a DSC and it was upgraded upon review - same with a number of WW2/ROK vets - lots of guys just do their jobs and don't think much of it all - never knew anybody who went out looking for or demanded an award...and don't think I'd want to be around someone who did - the witness requirement sometimes gets in the way of being able to confirm and justify the award (Vern Klinger was one whose DSC was never upgraded because of that) - choosing someone from among a group of maybe hundreds who might technically qualify but are all just doing the job they volunteered to do and aren't glory seeking (e.g., SF) would be tough - etc. In other words, it can be complicated - and this is one station for whcih there is no prep manual or study guide.

Richard's $.02
__________________
“Sometimes the Bible in the hand of one man is worse than a whisky bottle in the hand of (another)… There are just some kind of men who – who’re so busy worrying about the next world they’ve never learned to live in this one, and you can look down the street and see the results.” - To Kill A Mockingbird (Atticus Finch)

“Almost any sect, cult, or religion will legislate its creed into law if it acquires the political power to do so.” - Robert Heinlein
Richard is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 07-15-2009, 09:04   #5
dennisw
Area Commander
 
dennisw's Avatar
 
Join Date: Feb 2005
Location: Pinehurst,NC
Posts: 1,091
The witness requirement may be difficult and place a laboriously burden on others to wade through the difficult process, but it makes no sense to me that the only MOH's that have been presented have all been given posthumously. Of the hundreds of thousand who have served in both Iraq and Afghanistan and the untold amount of firefights and actions taken place, I cannot imagine that many more deserving soldiers and marines have merited the MOH. It is incomprehensible.

Therefore something else must be taking place. There must be a willful determination to insure that more MOH’s are not presented, and if so, only to those who have perished in the encounter. The lack of awarding MOH’s is so apparent, that some in government are also questioning the situation:

http://www.sdnn.com/sandiego/2009-06...medal-of-honor

Quote:
SAN DIEGO — Rep. Duncan Hunter, R-El Cajon, is questioning why there have been so few recipients of the Medal of Honor for service in Iraq and Afghanistan.

Duncan, a former Marine officer who served in both wars, announced Wednesday that he has inserted an amendment in defense spending legislation to force the U.S. secretary of defense to look at the reasons why.
According to Hunter, there has not been a single living recipient of the Medal of Honor since the start of combat operations in Iraq and Afghanistan.
Five soldiers who were killed in combat in Iraq and Afghanistan have been posthumously awarded the Medal of Honor, according to Hunter’s office.
“The lack of Medal of Honor awards in Iraq and Afghanistan suggest that either troops are not as brave as they used to be, which I don’t believe is true, or someone has to die in order to receive this honor,” Hunter said.
He cited the case of Marine Sgt. Rafael Peralta, who was killed in Iraq in 2004 when he suppressed a grenade blast with his body. Peralta’s Medal of Honor nomination was downgraded to the Navy Cross after a review by an independent panel.

Hunter’s amendment to the fiscal year 2010 Defense Authorization Act would require the secretary of defense to review whether acts of valor that traditionally merit the Medal of Honor are being downgraded or the criteria has been raised to favor actions that only result in death.
Hunter sent a letter to President Barack Obama earlier this year regarding the lack of living Medal of Honor recipients.

Undersecretary of Defense for Personnel and Readiness Gail McGinn responded that technological advancements, like precision-guided weapons, have resulted in less risk to troops, according to the congressman.“It’s true that some aspects of warfare have changed, but what hasn’t changed is the close-quarter combat that is required to take ground from the enemy” Hunter said. “That is what our Marines and soldiers do. Those actions are no different today than they were at any other time before.”
It's nice to finally realize that our troops are subject to less risks. I think it is obvious why more MOH’s have not been awarded: the democratic congress does not want to make national heroes out of folks that are not in their club.
__________________
Let us conduct ourselves in such a fashion that all nations wish to be our friends and all fear to be our enemies. The Virtues of War - Steven Pressfield
dennisw is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 07-15-2009, 09:54   #6
Richard
Quiet Professional
 
Richard's Avatar
 
Join Date: Aug 2004
Location: NorCal
Posts: 15,370
Like promotion boards - it's not a wholly objective process - and with valorous awards, one man's hero is another's idea of someone just performing IAW his duty description. Remember - rocket science ain't as exact as scientists would like us to believe, either.

Richard's $.02
__________________
“Sometimes the Bible in the hand of one man is worse than a whisky bottle in the hand of (another)… There are just some kind of men who – who’re so busy worrying about the next world they’ve never learned to live in this one, and you can look down the street and see the results.” - To Kill A Mockingbird (Atticus Finch)

“Almost any sect, cult, or religion will legislate its creed into law if it acquires the political power to do so.” - Robert Heinlein
Richard is offline   Reply With Quote
Reply


Currently Active Users Viewing This Thread: 1 (0 members and 1 guests)
 
Thread Tools
Display Modes

Posting Rules
You may not post new threads
You may not post replies
You may not post attachments
You may not edit your posts

BB code is On
Smilies are On
[IMG] code is Off
HTML code is Off

Forum Jump



All times are GMT -6. The time now is 09:45.



Copyright 2004-2022 by Professional Soldiers ®
Site Designed, Maintained, & Hosted by Hilliker Technologies