I have a BITCH (yea, I know...."When don't you have one?")
"Some Say Pentagon Not Awarding Enough Medals of Honor for Iraq, Afghan Valor"
http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2009/08/01/say-pentagon-awarding-medals-honor-iraq-afghan-valor/
My gripe is this.
Some Repub (Yes I know) from California (that should say it all) thinks the DOD isn't awarding ENOUGH CMOHs (Congressional Medal of Honor http://www.cmohs.org/).
This guy is comparing to the likes of WW2 and Vietnam. IN both those wars we had waaaaaaaaay more troops than we do in both of these conflicts combined. There are also VERY STRINGENT rules that pertain to the awarding of the CMOH. That's so it isn't "watered down" and to honor ALL who have earned it.
Just pick ANY of the citations one of these men. Each one is amazing unto itself. There is even a case or 2 of double-CMOH winners.
I like the one for Bruce Crandal http://www.cmohs.org/recipient-detail/3250/crandall-bruce-p.php (even if he wasn't a hospital corpsman). If you saw the movie "We were soldiers" he was the character played by Greg Kinnear. In the movie you don't see much, but read his citation. BTW, he lives in Olympia, WA.
I believe we do under-award our troops but the CMOH is not the "corrective action" for that. The Navy has the Navy cross, as well as the Silver and Bronze stars (as do the other services) for valor. Other services have their 2nd highest award.
I have 2 Navy Achievement medals. Sounds good, right? Its severly watered-down. I probably shouldn'thave gotten those 2 medals for what I did. I was just doing my job. Nothing special or heroic. Hell, in one case I was spending Navy money.
Every soldier/sailor/airman/or marine does something special while they are over there. They just don't qualify for the NATION'S HIGHEST AWARD.
Addendum: Also look up Audie Murphy (yes, he was a movie star too) http://www.cmohs.org/recipient-detail/2907/murphy-audie-l.php. if you've never seen the movie "To Hell and back" you need to. Its all abt his time in the service and culminates with him receiving his CMOH.
That is the shit that the CMOH was intended to award for.