Medal of Honor for Combat Controller?

[Catbox]

Interesting read on why SSgt Robert Guiterrez deserves the Medal of Honor:

http://www.defensemedianetwork.com/stories/why-staff-sgt-robert-gutierrez-should-receive-the-medal-of-honor/

[M2]

A good article, but unfortunately I doubt it will change things...

[Catbox]

Y

A good article, but unfortunately I doubt it will change things...

You are probably right, but the more hits the article gets the more it will show people are paying attention. It seems to me he deserves it and it would sure be nice to have a hot shit enlisted AF member at the White House getting this award.

[Fud]

It seems to me he deserves it and it would sure be nice to have a hot shit enlisted AF member at the White House getting this award.

This is half the problem with the award process of the MOH in the first place. I find it very sad that military and civilian leadership has not awarded more of these since 2001, but that is not our call to make. Nor should the public outcry be a part of the award either. Through all of my study about the MOH and my time on Active Duty; I have noticed a few things about medals.

1. Most people feel entitled to medals, and leadership has been a part of the problem. Every junior officer at PCS time will typically receive an AFCM, regardless of their performance in the unit. I have only seen a few marked down to an AFAM when the person should not have received an award at all.

2. It seems that at the end of every conflict, the press brings up the fact that not many valor awards have been given, and that the US needs a hero, sometimes to justify the conflict in the public eye.

3. Most people do not know how to nominate individuals for these awards. I think this would be a vital teaching tool at all forms of PME for officers/enlisted, and how to write the citation with the use of the AFI.

4. The MOH has turned into a political medal. This piggybacks on what I said in point number two, but it cannot be more true. Enough said on that point.

5. It shows how combat oriented, or lack thereof, the service tends to be. There are very few AFSCs in the AF that directly contribute to the fight. Unless a base is being overrun, and a chef picks up a .50 calibre machine gun to single-handedly repel the enemy, then pilots, CCT/PJ, TACP types will be the main groups receiving these awards.

An Army friend of mine asked me why Levitow received the medal when we compared the MOH citations side by side to Army, Navy, and Marine citations. I couldn't give him an answer because I was not there, and I was not on the panel that chose to recommend the medal to the POTUS. If you read American Patriot or anything about Col. Bud Day, you will see that he received his Air Force Cross before he was awarded the MOH. He thought it had been marked down by the Air Force, and never expected to get the medal in the first place. Later, he was awarded the MOH by President Ford near the end of his first term. This was viewed by Day as a slap in the face, due to the fact that Ford delayed the nomination process to make himself look better. Bottom line, people are egotistical, and I know many leaders I have served under who would cancel an award for someone they did not like, regardless of the actions they chose. I am happy to see military members receive the medal, and it makes me proud to know of the medal's heritage, history, and exclusivity. I hope leaders will not be bashful in awarding it, but also not award it at the behest of the media.

Edited September 27, 2011 by Fud

[Disco_Nav963]

Dorr has been an AF historian for longer than I've been around, but I would quibble with one thing. If you look at the valor awards database on the AF Crimes website enlisted awards outnumber officers by a wide margin, largely due to the nature of the current conflict. I don't think there is a prejudice against the E side of the house at all. The bias I find more believable is the stuff I've heard anecdotally from Bone guys where (OIF Night 1 type situation) Lt Col Sq/CC gets the DFC and other crew in the same package/same action gets an Air Medal.

[Guest Scaredfuzz]

I think the military in general has a problem with awarding medals like the MOH, silver star, ect. based on a person record not their actual act that brought them to the nomination. The military seems paranoid about awarding the MOH to a guy who saved 50 soldiers lives but has two DUIs or some other unfavorable mark in the record.