Should US Military
Medal Issue Regulations Be More Restrictve?
Since 02-20-06
From:
vetissues@yahoogroups.com [mailto:vetissues@yahoogroups.com]
On Behalf Of The American War Library
Sent: Sunday, February 19, 2006 9:38 PM
To: vetissues@yahoogroups.com
Subject: [vetissues] Should US Military Medal Issue Regulations Be More
Restrictive?
Should US
Military Medal Issue Regulations Be More Restrictve?
Small groups of American military personnel and veterans have historically
challenged U.S. military medal Issue Regulations on the basis of sex, race or
other criteria. For example, during WW2 no African-American was permitted to be
considered for the Medal of Honor because white commanders believed bestowing
such a high honor on a black American would adversely harm the morale of white
G.I.'s who believed that no black G.I. was capable of performing an act of
courage or self-sacrifice comparable to a white G.I.
Another example is the recent Combat Action Badge established by the U.S. Army.
Previous to the CAB, the Army planned to create the CCB (Close Combat Badge).
However, during a publicly broadcast press conference chaired by Secretary of
Defense Donald Rumsfeld and attended by enlisted military personnel, a female
Army corporal informed SecDef Rumsfeld that because women were not (officially)
permitted to serve in front-line combat units they would be highly restricted
from CCB eligibility. The SecDef agreed. Within 24 hours of that press
conference the CCB was canceled and the CAB was established, rendering a larger
group of personnel eligible, including females.
Other examples include the demand by some American veterans during the 2004
presidential campaign who called for the revocation of John Kerry's medals on
political grounds. A similar movement is now underway calling for the revocation
of Rep. John Murtha's wartime medals because of his criticism of Bush
Administration problems in Iraq. Some U.S. veterans believe that any American
veteran who does not share membership in their political party or support their
political beliefs should have their military medals challenged, if not revoked.
Lastly, some veteran organizations have recently made dramatic changes in their
membership policies. The VFW, for example, permitted many of its Posts to
exclude membership of Vietnam War veterans in the 1960's, 70's 80's because the
VFW did not consider Vietnam to be a "foreign war". However, due to its current
shrinking membership the VFW is now changing its membership rules to permit a
wide range of new members, including those who merely served in a non-hostile
environment.
Some American veterans feel strongly that U.S. military medal Issue Regulations
should be changed by Congress to provide a narrower range of eligibility
standards, and that medal eligibility should now include non-military
considerations such as the serviceperson's sex, race and political affiliation.
Before responding to this Survey you should first familiarize yourself with the
current, official DOD Issue Regulations. The complete list of medal DeptDef
Issue Regulations is available at URL:
http://www.amervets.com/replacement/isr.htm. After reviewing the official
Issue Regulations you may proceed to the Survey website to state which medal(s)
you feel should be restricted from eligibility to certain individuals or groups
of American servicepersonnel.
Survey Website:
http://home.pacbell.net/veterans/x-isr.htm
Contact Person for this Posting:
Roger Simpson, PIO (13105320634.com)
The American War Library (amervets.com)
Building Two, 16907 Brighton Avenue
Gardena CA 90247-5420
1-310-532-0634
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