Distinguished Warfare Medal Creates Outrage



Distinguished Warfare Medal

(Washington, D.C.) Considerable heartburn has erupted within the U.S. military regarding the new Distinguished Warfare Medal, intended to honor "extraordinary actions" of drone pilots customarily working hundreds or thousands of miles away from any combat zone.

The controversy is that the Distinguished Warfare Medal is ranked above the Bronze Star and the Purple Heart, decorations typically awarded for actions in combat.

Along with an avalanche of Whiskey Tango Foxtrots and a tsunami of outrage, troops are circulating a photo of a gold-plated X-Box controller and the skull-emblazoned “Call of Duty” medal as “prototypes” of the new award, which honors servicemembers like drone pilots and computer hackers who impact combat operations from afar.

The medal is being called the Chairborne Medal, the Distant Warfare Medal and the Purple Buttocks, among other names.

The flood of complaints has prompted Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel to order a review of the new medal to determine whether the order of precedence should be changed.

In a statement, Rep. Duncan Hunter, R-Calif. — a vocal critic of the award and one of only a handful of Afghanistan veterans in Congress — praised the decision to undertake a review.

“The (Distinguished Warfare Medal) is widely viewed as an award that undermines all other valor awards and the reverence for servicemembers who face the dangers of direct combat,” he said.

“It’s a fact that those who are off the battlefield do not experience the same risks. Pretending they do devalues the courageous and selfless actions of others, who, during combat, do the unthinkable or show a willingness to sacrifice their own lives.”

Actions in combat will forever trump non-combat, I contend.