[RSS]

Medals, achievements, badges, certificates, ribbons, awards and commendations are all forms of recognition for the job military service members do.

Medals, achievements, badges, certificates, ribbons, awards and commendations are all forms of recognition for the job military service members do. Sadly, in today’s world more of them are finding that the award rings hollow when the military decides play politics or smile for the hot lights of the media.

Awards are virtually the only tangible item that recognizes the sacrifice and honor of doing your job in the service of your nation and they live long after the cameras are gone and the battleground is silent. They stand after many a soldier has passed on and are a source of pride for their family and yet we have circumstances where honorable action is commended at the very same time that reprimands are handed out to placate anti-war or political opposition. There has developed a fear among the higher ups and within our elected leadership that has nothing to do with a gun, but a camera.

Few outside the military can fully grasp the duality of today’s combat soldiers. A military is not such a fine device that it naturally lends itself to a level of care that would make non-combatants happy (non-combatants being the locals who find themselves caught in the cross fire). Let’s not fool ourselves into thinking that the military exists with its vast arsenal of weapons, technology and training in order to simply stand watch. The military is a tool for securing peace through the effective use of force which does so at the request of elected representatives of the people. Today’s military deserves much more credit than anyone gives for the restraint they have based on the constraints that are placed upon them by those who measure success not in the ground you take in war but in the election results in peace.

In such an environment the awards should mean so much more where the mission calls for every bit of the pasts ‘win’ against an enemy while managing to limit or completely eliminate any of the ‘loss’ associated with widespread destruction that had once been the calling card of old conflicts. Over the years in both Iraq and Afghanistan you do not see pictures such as those found from World War II where whole cities are laid waste in high level bombing or continued naval or ground shelling. Our troops almost never get to use the ‘sledgehammer’ anymore because it is not ‘politically acceptable’ to some out of concern for the impact that the mission may have in the court of public opinion.

It’s come to light that awards have been so oddly awarded and so drenched in mixed message that the reward and recognition is less accepted or felt by those so awarded. Where are the heroes of histories wars? Do they not exist in todays military or were there more caring and selflessness among those then than now? As I write this I am proud to count many friends among those who have or currently serve this nation in this war against terrorism. I see all the same honor, sacrifice, integrity and bravery of those who have come before and yet because of the fear of those who do not understand, they are made to feel they are somehow less of a soldier, a sailor, an airman or marine.

The Medal of Honor is the highest recognition that those in the military can attain. It is not an award that is sought out because it usually comes at a cost most would never willingly think to pay. Some have achieved this through the fast action and desire to see their buddies come home alive and others have earned this award by an action that they themselves do not come home at all.

This honor is available today just as it has been since its formal acceptance in 1863 and yet while the job of war has only grown more dangerous and difficult those doing the job in my opinion have been overlooked. 246 were recognized for actions of valor in the extreme during the Vietnam War and yet only 6 have been honored in a conflict that looks to last longer than most if not all in US history.

I do not believe that there is less fight, less bravery, less integrity or valor in our combat troops today. I feel that the integrity loss in more likely a result of the fear that honoring these actions will somehow turn to glorifying war. Honoring the actions of the individual does not honor war but underscores the price of peace. It is long overdue that we as citizens accept that those in the military do what must be done under some of the worst conditions and do so IN OUR PLACE acting to secure our way of life and that those actions while at times distasteful in peacetime are necessary in war and they deserve and we should demand that they too be recognized.

This world still has heroes and while these proud men and women know within them that they do not need a medal to prove it, we should be proud enough of and brave enough to proclaim it and honor them for all time.

--
Mark Christianson is the Editor-in-Chief of Off Duty Gamers



View the full article