Thankfully, last month's designation by outgoing Defense Secretary Leon Panetta of the Distinguished Warfare Medal for drone operators is being reviewed by current SECDEF. See Huffington Post article here.
Much of the flak, deservedly so, comes from the fact the new medal is ranked above the medals awarded service members who fought under fire on the front lines, such as the Bronze Star with combat V and the Purple Heart.
From MSNBC:
Defense officials said that the ranking of the new medal recognized the changing nature of warfare. A Defense Department press release said that in addition to drone operators, a possible recipient could be "a soldier at Fort Meade, Md., who detects and thwarts a cyber attack on a DOD computer system."Personally, not sure why service members need yet another medal when the Pentagon already awards a couple dozen campaign, combat and warfare related medals. Then again, I was in the Navy and not Air Force.
"I've seen firsthand how modern tools, like remotely piloted platforms and cyber systems, have changed the way wars are fought," Panetta said in announcing the medal. "And they've given our men and women the ability to engage the enemy and change the course of battle, even from afar."
But the thought of placing a medal for drone pilots — operating their aircraft from secure sites far from the battlefield — above medals for members of the military actually under fire drew a barrage of criticism from veterans and their families.
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