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Why will Kamala Harris resign from her occupancy of the Office of Vice President of the USA? Scroll down for records/details Secret Negotiations! Jill Biden’s Demands for $2B Library, Legal Immunity, and $100M Book Deal to Protect Biden Family Before Joe’s Exit AI is exhausting the power grid. Tech firms are seeking a miracle solution. Rare Van Halen Leicestershire, Donnington Park August 18, 1984 Valerie Bertinelli Cameo If you need a Good Opening for black, use this. "Arrogant Hunter Biden has never been held accountable — until now" How Republicans in Key Senate Races Are Flip-Flopping on Abortion Idaho bar sparks fury for declaring June 'Heterosexual Awesomeness Month' and giving free beers and 15% discounts to straight men Son of Buc-ee’s co-owner indicted for filming guests in the shower and having sex. He says the law makes it OK. South Africa warns US could be liable for ICC prosecution for supporting Israel Today I turned 50! 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The minute the total solar eclipse appeared over US Three Types Of People To Mark And Avoid In The Church Today Are The 4 Horsemen Of The Apocalypse About To Appear? France sends combat troops to Ukraine battlefront Facts you may not have heard about Muslims in England. George Washington University raises the Hamas flag. American Flag has been removed. Alabama students chant Take A Shower to the Hamas terrorists on campus. In Day of the Lord, 24 Church Elders with Crowns Join Jesus in His Throne In Day of the Lord, 24 Church Elders with Crowns Join Jesus in His Throne Deadly Saltwater and Deadly Fresh Water to Increase Deadly Cancers to soon Become Thing of the Past? Plague of deadly New Diseases Continues [FULL VIDEO] Police release bodycam footage of Monroe County District Attorney Sandra Doorley traffi Police clash with pro-Palestine protesters on Ohio State University campus Joe Rogan Experience #2138 - Tucker Carlson Police Dispersing Student Protesters at USC - Breaking News Coverage (College Protests) What Passover Means For The New Testament Believer Are We Closer Than Ever To The Next Pandemic? War in Ukraine Turns on Russia what happened during total solar eclipse Israel Attacks Iran, Report Says - LIVE Breaking News Coverage Earth is Scorched with Heat Antiwar Activists Chant ‘Death to America’ at Event Featuring Chicago Alderman Status: Not Logged In; Sign In United States News See other United States News Articles Title: Army rules Fort Hood shooting victims eligible for Purple Heart Source: Dallas Morning News URL Source: http://www.dallasnews.com/news/loca ... -eligible-for-purple-heart.ece Published: Feb 9, 2015 Author: Aubree Abril Post Date: 2015-02-09 14:51:44 by redleghunter Keywords: None Views: 38824 Comments: 101 WASHINGTON — The Army announced Friday that it will award the Purple Heart to victims of the 2009 Fort Hood shooting, after years of resistance. Texas lawmakers welcomed news that the shooting spree, which left 13 people dead and more than 30 wounded, would no longer be classified as an act of “workplace violence,” given the shooter proclaimed himself a jihadi. “This has been a long, hard fight. The victims of this attack have struggled, suffered and been abandoned by this administration. No more,” said Rep. John Carter, the Round Rock Republican whose district includes Fort Hood, the nation’s largest military installation. “Today is a day of victory, and I am honored to have fought on their behalf.” The decision, Carter said, would “provide the victims their due benefits” and “finally give closure to the families.” Click for Full Text! Poster Comment: About time. Post Comment   Private Reply   Ignore Thread   Top • Page Up • Full Thread • Page Down • Bottom/Latest Comments (1-45) not displayed.       .       .       . #46. To: TooConservative (#26) (Edited) [TooConservative #26] Hasan's crimes would have been better prosecuted under federal terrorism charges. I would disagree. There is no need to bring in the need to prove terrorism when murder can provide a death penalty. If I were Hasan, I would rather face a federal civilian jury than a military court-martial panel. All members of the panel will be senior to the accused. The court-martial can return a verdict of guilty with a two-thirds majority. Unanimity is only needed only to mandate the death penalty. There are no hung juries in military practice. If the military does not get the job done, Hasan could be tried by the state. Trial for the same act once as a violation of federal law and once as a violation of state law does not violate double jeopardy. Legally, the federal and state governments are considered separate sovereigns. EDIT: Hasan was convicted of 13 counts of premeditated murder, 32 counts of attempted murder. He was sentenced to death (August, 2013). The death penalty automatically starts the appeals process. That's where the case is at. nolu chan  posted on  2015-02-10   16:42:06 ET  Reply   Trace   Private Reply   #47. To: redleghunter (#44) There's a job for you at the Pentagon:) Uhhh, no there isn't. I'm totally retired. nolu chan  posted on  2015-02-10   16:47:06 ET  Reply   Trace   Private Reply   #48. To: nolu chan (#47) Uhhh, no there isn't. I'm totally retired. Which service branch? "For You formed my inward parts; You wove me in my mother’s womb." (Psalm 139:13) redleghunter  posted on  2015-02-10   16:50:58 ET  Reply   Trace   Private Reply   #49. To: redleghunter (#48) Which service branch? I retired from the Navy over 30 years ago. Now I'm just retired. nolu chan  posted on  2015-02-10   16:56:10 ET  Reply   Trace   Private Reply   #50. To: nolu chan (#49) Thank you for your service. "For You formed my inward parts; You wove me in my mother’s womb." (Psalm 139:13) redleghunter  posted on  2015-02-10   16:58:22 ET  Reply   Trace   Private Reply   #51. To: redleghunter (#50) Thank you for your service. You too. nolu chan  posted on  2015-02-10   17:12:36 ET  Reply   Trace   Private Reply   #52. To: Gatlin, redleghunter, sneakypete (#28) That was when Medals were given out for Valor not for just being IN or flying OVER the theatre, who knows how many miles behind the lines. Even when I was in and I retired 16 years ago if aircrew flew into a hazardous theatre (even if it was mega miles behind the lines) you got a Commendation Medal. (You made 10 trips you got 10 Commendation Medals). But.... if you were a passenger on one of those same flights you got......... (Wait for it, wait for it)...... NOTHING!!!!!!!!!! Woohooooo Hell I got shot at on 3 different TDYs by Muzzies and got nothing for it but the aircrew who dumped my ass off got medals for it, go figure. $5 says pete can relate to that. {chuckle} I looked at the new AF ribbons chart and there is so many new medals it isn't funny, and most of them are what you get for just showing up to work. One of them now is just for VOLUNTEERING!!!!!!!!! REALLY???????? (AND that CMSgt even has one of those). LOL. (I wonder if I could have gotten one of those for "being volunteered" to clean the schitter if I had stayed in longer)? :) “Political correctness is a doctrine, fostered by a delusional, illogical minority, and rapidly promoted by mainstream media, which holds forth the proposition that it is entirely possible to pick up a turd by the clean end.â€� CZ82  posted on  2015-02-10   19:00:59 ET  Reply   Trace   Private Reply   #53. To: CZ82 (#52) Are you telling me that the Air Force is now like kids sports? You know where they don't keep score and everyone gets a trophy? A K A Stone  posted on  2015-02-10   19:02:53 ET  Reply   Trace   Private Reply   #54. To: redleghunter (#29) I wasn't a "political animal wearing kneepads" or aircrew so my "rack" was much smaller. :) “Political correctness is a doctrine, fostered by a delusional, illogical minority, and rapidly promoted by mainstream media, which holds forth the proposition that it is entirely possible to pick up a turd by the clean end.â€� CZ82  posted on  2015-02-10   19:05:39 ET  Reply   Trace   Private Reply   #55. To: A K A Stone (#53) Yup! And you probably also get a Certificate to hang on your "I LOVE ME" wall. :) “Political correctness is a doctrine, fostered by a delusional, illogical minority, and rapidly promoted by mainstream media, which holds forth the proposition that it is entirely possible to pick up a turd by the clean end.â€� CZ82  posted on  2015-02-10   19:08:46 ET  Reply   Trace   Private Reply   #56. To: CZ82 (#52) We probably have something in common with awards. I worked on a joint mission with the Corps TACP while in Iraq. I was surprised when called to the BIAP "Air Force House." The Corps ALO/EASOG commander pinned an AFAM on me. "For You formed my inward parts; You wove me in my mother’s womb." (Psalm 139:13) redleghunter  posted on  2015-02-11   0:57:31 ET  Reply   Trace   Private Reply   #57. To: redleghunter (#40) If a Soldier serves in a unit at the time of awarding a unit citation award, then that Soldier can wear, on his right chest that award for the remainder of his/her career. Thanks for clearing that up for me. Why is democracy held in such high esteem when it’s the enemy of the minority and makes all rights relative to the dictates of the majority? (Ron Paul,2012) sneakypete  posted on  2015-02-11   1:29:34 ET  Reply   Trace   Private Reply   #58. To: CZ82 (#52) (Edited) I looked at the new AF ribbons chart and there is so many new medals it isn't funny, and most of them are what you get for just showing up to work. I know. I attended some sort of function at Bragg back in the 90's,and saw SF guys wearing whole rows of ribbons I couldn't recognize. Seemed like in the 80's and 90's the US military was giving out ribbons for everything. IIRC,I was told that some of the ribbons were for stuff like the annual field training exercises in Europe. I think they were called "Reforger" or some such crap. I was surprised you would get a actual medal and ribbon for being in a field exercise. I remember back in the 60's when there would be formal formations you would see guys show up wearing nothing but their CIB/CMB's and jump wings,and some of those guys had some pretty serious stuff they could have put on if they had wanted. One senior NCO was even wearing a Iron Cross at a IG formation in 64. Lots of the guys from the WW-2 and Korean War eras had multiple Silver Stars and Purple Hearts,but people mostly didn't trot that stuff out for display except for awards ceremonies and/or IG formations. My company commander on Okie had a MoH from the Korean War,and I didn't even know about it until a couple of years later. All he ever wore on his khaki dress uniforms was his multiple award CIB and his jump wings. This was Ola Mize,one of the finest men to have ever walked the earth. A quiet and soft-spoken man who was a true gentleman. Sadly,he died a year or two ago. BTW,I got the impression that these days it is pretty much mandatory to wear all your ribbons any time you are wearing your dress uniform. That used to be optional unless you were reporting in to a new command or going through a IG inspection. Why is democracy held in such high esteem when it’s the enemy of the minority and makes all rights relative to the dictates of the majority? (Ron Paul,2012) sneakypete  posted on  2015-02-11   1:35:17 ET  Reply   Trace   Private Reply   #59. To: sneakypete (#58) Seemed like in the 80's and 90's the US military was giving out ribbons for everything. Just serving in the Gulf War gave me three ribbons. 1. Southwest Asia service medal 2. Saudi Arabia defense ribbon 3. Kuwait liberation medal 2&3 were awarded by the host nations. "For You formed my inward parts; You wove me in my mother’s womb." (Psalm 139:13) redleghunter  posted on  2015-02-11   1:47:30 ET  Reply   Trace   Private Reply   #60. To: redleghunter (#59) 2. Saudi Arabia defense ribbon I think if I were in uniform and had one of those,I'd be in a hell of a lot of trouble if ordered to wear it. Some things are just so totally wrong they can't be tolerated. Why is democracy held in such high esteem when it’s the enemy of the minority and makes all rights relative to the dictates of the majority? (Ron Paul,2012) sneakypete  posted on  2015-02-11   1:50:36 ET  Reply   Trace   Private Reply   #61. To: sneakypete (#60) Allies awarding medals to units and groups of Soldiers is nothing new. "For You formed my inward parts; You wove me in my mother’s womb." (Psalm 139:13) redleghunter  posted on  2015-02-11   1:56:09 ET  Reply   Trace   Private Reply   #62. To: redleghunter (#61) Allies awarding medals to units and groups of Soldiers is nothing new. I understand this. I have a couple of my own. I don't have any Saudi Arabia Defense Medals though,and if I were still in uniform and were given one,I think I MIGHT prefer a court-martial over wearing it. IMHO,it's something to be ashamed of,not proud about. It's one of the prime reasons I have such a burning hatred for the Bush Crime Family. The Sauds pimped them out and as a result American lives and health were lost defending our and the world's enemies. Why is democracy held in such high esteem when it’s the enemy of the minority and makes all rights relative to the dictates of the majority? (Ron Paul,2012) sneakypete  posted on  2015-02-11   9:50:39 ET  Reply   Trace   Private Reply   #63. To: sneakypete (#58) BTW,I got the impression that these days it is pretty much mandatory to wear all your ribbons any time you are wearing your dress uniform. When I was in (79-99) and wearing fatigues you wore Name, Branch, Rank, Unit Patch, Command Patch and any badges you may have earned. Whenever you had to dress in blues you wore Name, Rank, US insignia, your "ribbon rack" and any badges you may have earned, from the looks of the CMSgt picture that hasn't changed. “Political correctness is a doctrine, fostered by a delusional, illogical minority, and rapidly promoted by mainstream media, which holds forth the proposition that it is entirely possible to pick up a turd by the clean end.â€� CZ82  posted on  2015-02-11   16:16:36 ET  Reply   Trace   Private Reply   #64. To: CZ82 (#63) Command Patch You must mean combat patch. What if you earned more than one, like so many troops have in the past decade? Fred Mertz  posted on  2015-02-11   16:19:42 ET  Reply   Trace   Private Reply   #65. To: Fred Mertz, CZ82 (#64) You must mean combat patch. What if you earned more than one, like so many troops have in the past decade? I was authorized to wear 4. You usually wear your most recent one. When the Army combat uniform (ACU) was updated in 2005 it had velcro patches. So you could interchange them if you wanted:) "For You formed my inward parts; You wove me in my mother’s womb." (Psalm 139:13) redleghunter  posted on  2015-02-11   16:37:58 ET  Reply   Trace   Private Reply   #66. To: Fred Mertz (#64) Command Patch You must mean combat patch. What if you earned more than one, like so many troops have in the past decade? Command patch designated if you were in something like Military Airlift Command (MAC), Strategic Air Command (SAC), Space Command so forth and so on. We didn't have a combat patch for our fatigues. But for blues you got a ribbon to designate you had been in some such place like Vietnam, Korea, Southwest Asia, WW2, or something like that. From what I've seen now they do have a ribbon for Combat called "Air Force Combat Action Military Ribbon". “Political correctness is a doctrine, fostered by a delusional, illogical minority, and rapidly promoted by mainstream media, which holds forth the proposition that it is entirely possible to pick up a turd by the clean end.â€� CZ82  posted on  2015-02-11   16:42:52 ET  Reply   Trace   Private Reply   #67. To: CZ82 (#63) Whenever you had to dress in blues you wore Name, Rank, US insignia, your "ribbon rack" and any badges you may have earned, from the looks of the CMSgt picture that hasn't changed. When I was in the army in the 60's "ribbon racks" were only required for formal ceremonies and reporting in to a new unit. As you know,your ribbons tell everyone your career history at a glance. It was optional for traveling or casual wear like company formations. It was customary for people in fatigues to have all their badges like jump wings,CIB,etc,etc,etc sewn on,but not mandatory. I know this for a fact because I refused to pay to have jump wings and a CIB sewn on my fatigues and jackets after coming back from VN because I only had a little better than 6 months to go in the army,and I wasn't willing to spend the money. Nobody at Bragg was impressed with that stuff anyhow. You stood out if you didn't have any of it. Why is democracy held in such high esteem when it’s the enemy of the minority and makes all rights relative to the dictates of the majority? (Ron Paul,2012) sneakypete  posted on  2015-02-11   18:55:14 ET  Reply   Trace   Private Reply   #68. To: Fred Mertz (#64) (Edited) You must mean combat patch. What if you earned more than one, like so many troops have in the past decade? I had three. In the case of multiples,it was customary to wear the one that YOU felt was most significant. I never did get used to seeing guys wearing a SF patch or 82nd Abn Div patch on each sleeve,though. Why is democracy held in such high esteem when it’s the enemy of the minority and makes all rights relative to the dictates of the majority? (Ron Paul,2012) sneakypete  posted on  2015-02-11   18:56:52 ET  Reply   Trace   Private Reply   #69. To: CZ82 (#66) From what I've seen now they do have a ribbon for Combat called "Air Force Combat Action Military Ribbon". Good for them! I always felt sorry for the poor Air Commandoes that put so much on the line so often,and were almost like military redheaded stepchildren because almost nobody even knew they existed,and they looked just like regular AF desk jockey's most of the time. Not sure when they became authorized to wear a blue beret. Why is democracy held in such high esteem when it’s the enemy of the minority and makes all rights relative to the dictates of the majority? (Ron Paul,2012) sneakypete  posted on  2015-02-11   19:00:58 ET  Reply   Trace   Private Reply   #70. To: sneakypete (#69) Not sure when they became authorized to wear a blue beret. This is a history of the Beret for "ALL" US Forces. http://www.alaska.net/~jcassidy/pdf_files/U.S.%20Armed%20Forces%20Beret% 20History.pdf “Political correctness is a doctrine, fostered by a delusional, illogical minority, and rapidly promoted by mainstream media, which holds forth the proposition that it is entirely possible to pick up a turd by the clean end.â€� CZ82  posted on  2015-02-12   6:32:26 ET  Reply   Trace   Private Reply   #71. To: redleghunter (#56) The Corps ALO/EASOG commander pinned an AFAM on me. For doing what if you don't mind me asking? “Political correctness is a doctrine, fostered by a delusional, illogical minority, and rapidly promoted by mainstream media, which holds forth the proposition that it is entirely possible to pick up a turd by the clean end.â€� CZ82  posted on  2015-02-12   6:37:59 ET  Reply   Trace   Private Reply   #72. To: CZ82, GarySpFc (#71) For doing what if you don't mind me asking? It was an impact award. I was the MNC-I lead on coordinating Joint assets lethal/non-lethal for a 'pinned down' SF advisory team and the downed Apache aircraft which went to support them. The rest is need to know:) But there was some press of the event: BACKGROUND: Millenarians in Najaf hoped to kill Sistani et al. to prepare return of the Mahdi It was late January 2007. The Corps ALO (EASOG commander) appreciated my efforts for recommending retasking of CFACC assets to support what we called "The Mother of all TICs" (troops in contact). His JOC ALO team was a little green around the gills to stomp on who needed to be stomped on:). I also drafted a position paper later that Spring arguing the need for USN CSG air support for the surge. The requirement needed to come from the Army and needed GEN Petreaus' signature. After the memo was signed I traveled with the ALO and my COL boss to the CAOC to deliver the memo to the CFACC commander. At least the above was alluded to in the citation write up. As you know the AFAM is a service/achievement award. No heroism/valor involved. Just doing my job and he recognized me for it. After almost 12 years of my service joined at the hip with ALOs and JTACs, it was nice to have something to remember my brothers in Blue. "For You formed my inward parts; You wove me in my mother’s womb." (Psalm 139:13) redleghunter  posted on  2015-02-12   10:31:00 ET  Reply   Trace   Private Reply   #73. To: redleghunter (#72) Yea but you being an officer I would have put you in for something with a little more teeth than an Achievement Medal. “Political correctness is a doctrine, fostered by a delusional, illogical minority, and rapidly promoted by mainstream media, which holds forth the proposition that it is entirely possible to pick up a turd by the clean end.â€� CZ82  posted on  2015-02-13   18:31:52 ET  Reply   Trace   Private Reply   #74. To: redleghunter, CZ82, sneakypete (#72) I have a vague recollection of something that happened during the Grenada incursion/excursion when Reagan was president. Some of the US troops developed heat injuries during the action. They were eventually awarded purple hearts, if my memory is correct. Look it up. Fred Mertz  posted on  2015-02-17   13:31:11 ET  Reply   Trace   Private Reply   #75. To: Fred Mertz, redleghunter, CZ82, sneakypete (#74) I have a vague recollection of something that happened during the Grenada incursion/excursion when Reagan was president. Some of the US troops developed heat injuries during the action. They were eventually awarded purple hearts, if my memory is correct. Look it up. If any run for office as Dems, their Republican opponent will claim that those injuries were not deserving of purple hearts. Pericles  posted on  2015-02-17   13:35:48 ET  Reply   Trace   Private Reply   #76. To: Pericles (#75) If any run for office as Dems, their Republican opponent will claim that those injuries were not deserving of purple hearts. Not to worry. Most who get into politics on either side of the aisle don't serve in the military. "It is written, Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God." (Matthew 4:4) redleghunter  posted on  2015-02-17   14:54:27 ET  Reply   Trace   Private Reply   #77. To: Pericles (#75) If any run for office as Dems, their Republican opponent will claim that those injuries were not deserving of purple hearts. They weren't and aren't. Why is democracy held in such high esteem when it’s the enemy of the minority and makes all rights relative to the dictates of the majority? (Ron Paul,2012) sneakypete  posted on  2015-02-17   15:44:08 ET  Reply   Trace   Private Reply   #78. To: sneakypete (#77) Military service these days is for the poor and the suckers. Pericles  posted on  2015-02-17   17:10:29 ET  Reply   Trace   Private Reply   #79. To: Pericles (#78) Military service these days is for the poor and the suckers. And one of the few occupations that offer retirement. A K A Stone  posted on  2015-02-17   17:15:40 ET  Reply   Trace   Private Reply   #80. To: Pericles (#78) Military service these days is for the poor and the suckers. Very few poor. The services do recruit in poorer neighborhoods but also middle class. Hard to get a rich kid to enlist. Been like that since Sam Adams time. However, given the drawdown, the services can be more selective. As retired Army officer I am now a gray beard instuctor for units ready to deploy. Your comments are not accurate. The Army is getting some very good people of good character in these days. Again, do to them being selective. It is no longer 2004-2008 where a pulse got you in. "It is written, Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God." (Matthew 4:4) redleghunter  posted on  2015-02-17   17:15:41 ET  Reply   Trace   Private Reply   #81. To: A K A Stone, GarySpFc (#79) And one of the few occupations that offer retirement. That is going away too. The proposal is to offer 401Ks. This way it is portable if the soldier decides not to re-enlist. Suckers no:) In such a draw down of forces they can be more selective. We are getting good troops coming in. "It is written, Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God." (Matthew 4:4) redleghunter  posted on  2015-02-17   17:19:29 ET  Reply   Trace   Private Reply   #82. To: Fred Mertz, redleghunter, CZ82, sneakypete (#74) I have a vague recollection of something that happened during the Grenada incursion/excursion when Reagan was president. Some of the US troops developed heat injuries during the action. They were eventually awarded purple hearts, if my memory is correct. I think that heatstroke victim you recall may have been in Panama. But Grenada earned 10,000 awards. http://articles.dailypress.com/1990-08-26/news/9008230214_1_heat-exhaustion-gen-carl-vuono-purple-heart Recent Award Insults Purple Heart Holders Paratrooper With Heat Stroke Gets Top Medal August 26, 1990|By DAVID H. HACKWORTH At a bedside ceremony in Texas, the Army chief of staff awarded the Purple Heart medal to hospitalized Pfc. Grant Gipe, a casualty in Operation Just Cause in Panama last December. Paratrooper Gipe was not wounded as he bravely jumped into a night sky crisscrossed with enemy shot and shell. He was not hit while storming an objective. Nor was he felled by a bullet or ripped open by a bayonet in hand-to-hand combat with a Panamanian defender. Rather, Gipe was knocked out of the fight by the blistering sun on the Rio Hato drop zone. The good medics tagged him as a "heat stroke" casualty and sent the 82d Airborne Division trooper to Brooke Army Hospital in San Antonio, where he was awarded the Purple Heart for "heat exhaustion" by Gen. Carl Vuono. Soldiers had trouble with that "old devil sun" for thousands of years before Kipling's "Gunga Din" became a barracks refrain. Countless warriors and many a victory have been lost to heat exhaustion as soldiers bellied up from too much sun, an empty canteen and slack discipline. But in days past, no one got a medal for heat exhaustion, and some heat-struck casualties were even shot by angry commanders who felt they had failed their duty. To award the Purple Heart medal for heat exhaustion is an insult to every living and dead Purple Heart holder. In conflicts past, a soldier had to bleed to get it. Its wearer had had a bullet, fragment or missile rip through his tender body dispatched by an enemy who wanted him permanently out of the way. American warriors considered it and the Medal of Honor the nation's last respected and still sacred military decorations, the only medals that had not been exploited by the glory hunters or diminished by the bureaucrats. Now the Purple Heart too has been corrupted: It has been awarded for a reason other than wounds received as a result of enemy action. My quarrel is not with Gipe, who made a dangerous low-level combat jump into the darkness and later valiantly assisted two other soldiers to the aid station. It's with the bureaucrats in uniform who since the war in Vietnam have been responsible for the debasement of a once-proud and meaningful Army awards and decoration system. The charade has left our soldier's chests so bedecked with fruit salad that the practice is lampooned by professional soldiers around the globe. With Vuono's action, the Army's long-battered, bruised and grossly inflated awards system has sunk to a new low. This took some doing. In Vietnam, literally millions of awards were mechanically churned out. Line colonels and generals routinely got award packages for simply doing their job - normally a Silver Star, Legion of Merit, Distinguished Flying Cross or Bronze Star. A 1st Cavalry Division general was awarded a Silver Star while on R & R. Gen. Alexander Haig won a Distinguished Flying Cross by identifying a Viet Cong unit while flying in his helicopter. Grenada was just as bad: 7,000 American invaders faced a few hundred militia men in a few days of sputtering combat - and almost 10,000 awards were issued. Yet despite these disgraceful examples, the Purple Heart medal stood proud. It was a direct descendant of America's oldest military decoration, the Badge for Military Merit, established by George Washington in 1782. It remained unblemished and untainted by inflation, corruption or manipulation because the rule was that blood had to flow, and combat medics - one of the noblest and bravest bands of warriors - had to sign off on these awards. They could not be bought or compromised. Until Gipe got his medal, the Purple Heart was the ultimate badge of courage and honor, a badge worn proudly by 731,000 living Americans - many of whom gathered recently at the annual meeting of the Military Order of the Purple Heart meeting in Novi, Mich. The medal also served to identify the fakers. A chest full of medals without the Purple Heart gave cause to wonder if the hero who looked like a cross between a Russian general and a Christmas tree had ever been on or near a killing field or was simply a supply ace sporting his having-been-there trophies. Now the sun in Panama and a sham in Texas have changed all that. Not only did Gipe become a casualty of the invasion of Panama, but so did the U.S. Army's award program. * David H. Hackworth is a retired Army colonel who earned eight Purple Hearts in Korea and Vietnam. nolu chan  posted on  2015-02-17   17:20:09 ET  Reply   Trace   Private Reply   #83. To: nolu chan (#82) Wow have not seen Hack's name in some time. Loved his book About Face. I guess he passed on about 10 years now? "It is written, Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God." (Matthew 4:4) redleghunter  posted on  2015-02-17   17:36:23 ET  Reply   Trace   Private Reply   #84. To: nolu chan (#82) It's with the bureaucrats in uniform who since the war in Vietnam have been responsible for the debasement of a once-proud and meaningful Army awards and decoration system. The charade has left our soldier's chests so bedecked with fruit salad that the practice is lampooned by professional soldiers around the globe. With Vuono's action, the Army's long-battered, bruised and grossly inflated awards system has sunk to a new low. You got that right. BTW Hackworth is one of 6 people who have 8 Purple Hearts. “Political correctness is a doctrine, fostered by a delusional, illogical minority, and rapidly promoted by mainstream media, which holds forth the proposition that it is entirely possible to pick up a turd by the clean end.â€� CZ82  posted on  2015-02-17   19:29:53 ET  Reply   Trace   Private Reply   #85. To: redleghunter, sneakypete (#76) Not to worry. Most who get into politics on either side of the aisle don't serve in the military. Or if they did they were REMFs pretending to be more than what they actually were. “Political correctness is a doctrine, fostered by a delusional, illogical minority, and rapidly promoted by mainstream media, which holds forth the proposition that it is entirely possible to pick up a turd by the clean end.â€� CZ82  posted on  2015-02-17   19:32:28 ET  Reply   Trace   Private Reply   #86. To: Pericles (#78) Military service these days is for the poor and the suckers. Clearly communist theorists like you are too evolved and too intellectually important to be getting involved in stuff best left for the lower classes,right? Why is democracy held in such high esteem when it’s the enemy of the minority and makes all rights relative to the dictates of the majority? (Ron Paul,2012) sneakypete  posted on  2015-02-17   20:27:25 ET  Reply   Trace   Private Reply         .       .       . Comments (87 - 101) not displayed. Top • Page Up • Full Thread • Page Down • Bottom/Latest

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