Medal of Honor being held back?

[bobdina]

Rep.: MoH is held back
By Matthew Cox
mcox@militarytimes.com
Former Marine and congressman Duncan Hunter put the Army’s chief of staff on the hot seat at a May 14 hearing, accusing the Pentagon of “hijacking” the Medal of Honor from service members who lived through their heroic acts.
“There has not been a living recipient to earn the Medal of Honor since the Vietnam War,” said Hunter, R-Calif., the son of former House Army Services Committee chairman Duncan Hunter.
“There have been Medal of Honor recommendations that have gone all the way up the chain and have been stopped back here in D.C. when everybody on the ground in Iraq and Afghanistan concurs” on the recommendations, he said.
Hunter asked Army Chief of Staff Gen. George Casey if the criteria for the Medal of Honor have changed to require the recipient to have died while performing the courageous act.
“The criteria have not changed,” Casey told Hunter. He added that he has seen no effort to “downgrade or downplay the valor of our soldiers.” Since Sept. 11, 2001, five Medals of Honor have been awarded. All the awards were posthumous.
“The question is why,” Hunter said, speaking for soldiers, sailors, airmen and Marines. “Are we not as brave, are we not as courageous, are there no more acts of valor?” Referring to living soldiers, Casey said he has “read about some hugely heroic acts, and in my own mind they haven’t risen to the level of the Medal of Honor.” “The right answer is that the criteria has probably changed ... you have to be dead,” Hunter said. “I have never heard that state*ment” before, Casey said.
“We are trying to track down where the Medals of Honor are being hijacked,” Hunter said.
Casey assured Hunter he would look into the issue, saying, “I’d like to find out about this myself.”

[mickk]

I have been following the non issue of the CMOH for years.

To quote Paul Bucha CMOH, upon meeting Admiral Mullen at the Inauguration of President Obama, and discussing the fact that it now seems you have to die to be awarded the CMOH

"This is ridiculous, who is it thats setting this standard, that you have to dive on a hand grenade and die, thats essentially the act" stated Bucha.

Mullen replies " Buddy Ive been trying to change that but Im getting resistance".

Bucha goes on to explain and I paraphrase, that he thinks the DSCs and maybe Silver Stars need to be re examined to determine if some false standard has crept in, because theres only 98 CMOH holders and as time goes on, the older you get... what you did, couldnt be done by those who follow. Its embellishment that happens in war, mythology sets in. It has manifested itself in "they did not meet the threshold". He goes on to explain that the CMOH is not given by the person awarding it, its given for the people, for comrades. By not giving those medals, those who fight are being told in many ways that they are not equal. Which is a tragedy.

As a result, we as a society have to ask where are these medals, we need to see these kids standing in front of their home towns wearing the medal...its good for them its good for us.

Anyway you should go to http://www.pritzkermilitarylibrary.org/podcasts/ if you dont already know the site.

He concludes by saying, "whoever the decision makers are, they are wrong, and if I was in a position to change it I would"....."the first thing I would do would be to check their records, check what they have done and I want some medals of Honor , if you cant do it I will".

Bucha is a remarkable man and spot on the money.

There are too many non combat experienced people so high up the chain now, all they want to do is keep warriors away from themselves. Perhaps they are afraid of not making the mark themselves, as warriors.