Medals.
Who needs them.
Who gets them.
Why are they important?

I have my own little theory on Combat Awards...and I hope it doesn't offend any of you Soldiers with its simplicity. It is how I feel. And I don't think I am alone.

First, every Soldier, in any Branch, deserves a medal for stepping up for their country. One of the few areas where I think a participation "trophy" is not only necessary but mandatory. As everyone on this thread knows...not many feel the call to Duty, and everyone of us is just one set of orders, or one disaster away from Combat. So I am all for that Participation Medal.
Validation from folks who know how difficult your job is, well that is what makes us Proud but not filled with pride...if you follow my thinking. Most Medals of Valor go to humble people. You have to really either know them, or get to know them well, to find out how (or how many) awards they got.

In every area of life there are competitors. Combat is, in a way, the toughest game - you win, or you die. I am not saying it is a game, I am saying it is the ultimate sacrifice you can make for the country or ideals you love- the ones you are willing to die for.

And the Medals I know of reflect that:
First level awards and Commendations are for being a good soldier for the training and duty you do in Garrison or at peace. Running the gamut from a Certificate of Achievement to Army Commendation Medals, to even a Bronze Star without the V for Valor. Those are important Awards...it means someone is paying attention to being ready for when they actually have to go to Combat.

They keep up moral, inspire hard work and attention to detail (training). Good Awards.

Then there are Deployment Awards that show you went to a Combat Theater. Unit Awards, Deployment citations, all meant you went to where it was happening. Another soldier can read your Awards like a DD 214...and the patch on your arm tells them something too. You earned putting that patch on one shoulder and not another.

Now - we get to the beginning of how I see Awards for Valor/Combat.

First up, the CIB.
Yep, you have been under fire. You found out how you would react when the Sh*t hit the fan. That is the first moment of truth anyone faces in War. You faced it. Good on you.

Next up...Army Commendation Medal...under fire. This means you kept your cool and did some thinking while reacting. Someone saw you do something worth a compliment of the highest order. So they told someone.

Bronze Star with V for Valor.
This means the ordinary grunt, fighting in a firefight saw you do something they thought was crazy. Crazy brave, that is. They told you that there was no way in hell they would have done that! And they are glad you got that medal. (Remember all of these medals are earned!)

Okay, we step up a level of crazy to the Silver Star with V for Valor. This medal is given out to folks who even Bronze Star Winners stand in awe of. "Holy crap! Can you believe how crazy brave that soldier is? No way I would do that." And that is coming from someone already decorated for some crazy Sh*t.

Think about that posting of that female solder who won the Silver Star...and what she did to earn it. It is on RallyPoint- and when you read about her...you think: "Yep. Silver Star...no doubt about it!"

Now we are up to the Distinguished Service Cross...and at this point almost everyone who served is going: "Man oh man, that is bravery bordering on insanity. Crazy Brave. " Every other Medal Winner is thinking the same thing: "That is one brave Mother F*cker."

Then the Medal of Honor. This medal is often given out Posthumously. Because it is usually given to people who are rescuing someone winning one of the other medals. These are people who know they are probably not going to make it, but they save one, two, or many of their brothers or sisters as their final act.

HERO in all Caps.

The ultimate Sacrifice with full knowledge it would be their last. There aren't any words to describe these folks. In the middle of a battle they do something that hardened experienced Combat Vets Salute them with a heavy heart.

So there is my theory. The Crazy brave Sh*t just keeps escalating until everyone agrees that was some Crazy Brave Sh*t...way out of the ordinary. Those medals are for the living. A testimony to you, the one who won them. Your peers agree that belongs on your chest, or around your neck. Don't dismiss it, or their opinion of you, you earned it.

The ones who didn't come home...there isn't a Medal big enough for that. There never will be. All we can do is Honor their Memory. And every Medal winner I ever met, thought the ones that didn't come home were the real Heroes.

I don't care if you never got a single award...if you served your time and did your duty...you count. You stood up and took the Oath. God Bless you.

If you won a medal for a good job, or the Soldier's Medal for bravery while not under fire...that is one heck of an achievement. You earned it. Wear it with Pride.

Oh, and there is one more Medal...the Purple Heart. We all know what happened to get one of those, your blood or body parts are on a foreign soil somewhere. No need to explain what that one means.

And if you are one of those several levels of Bat Sh*t Crazy Brave Medal winners for Valor under Fire...it is small compensation for your courage and sacrifice. Wear it to both tell us it can be done, and to inspire those who might have to go.

I salute you all!

And that is my theory on Awards and Medals.