Sunday, March 20, 2011

Just thinking...







So I've been an Army wife way to long and I've seen a lot of really just messed up and idiotic things happen in the Army because of Commanders and 1st Sgts thinking only of themselves...or just completely demoralizing their troops...or cheapen the value and meaning of a medal because its now rank based...

Take for example the Medals that our troops are awarded...there was an article recently talking about how OIF/OEF vets that have TBI(Traumatic Brain Injury) have been denied Purple Hearts because there was "confusion" on the part of the Commanders and even some Doctors about having a cuncussion...really so "Joe Smoe" who cut his finger while in theater by his actions can receive a Purple Heart but "Jack Bob" who was in the middle of constant mortar fire...and everything else who was diagnosed with a TBI wasn't...how on earth can people be confused about that...so now the military has to go back through and make sure those men and women that have TBI's can qualify to get their medal

I don't know maybe I'm thinking..yea that's it I was THINKING...if you broke your leg while doing something besides combat related movements...if you cut your finger on a freaking can of soup...you DON'T deserve a Purple Heart! If you were injured in combat...if you were ambushed and you sustained any injury from that how ever your injury might of happened...even ones that can't be seen..you DO deserve a Purple Heart...how freaking hard is that to understand...I have known some truly deserving people that have a Purple Heart and they have given the the ultimate sacrifice in the loss of a limb or vision or hearing...but really people the Army has cheapened the value of this medal. If a person truly deserve this medal do NOT deny them that right!

The sad thing is this doesn't just stop with the Purple Heart...my husband's last unit came home from a deployment if you were an E-6 of higher you got a Bronze Star...really??? So because you're an Staff Sgt you deserve that medal but if your a Sgt you don't....WTF! I don't know maybe your entire unit deserves that medal...instead you put down the lower ranks for the typical AR COM(Army Commendation Medal) which any giving soldier has about 7 of those because they hand them out like freaking chocolate bars...so its ok to decided that one group deserves one medal and the other group gets something less even though they all were in the same place at the same time doing the same damn job!!?? But wait then that means someone would have to think about things logically...shit and in todays Army that doesn't happen...if its not about how someone can "look good" and push their way to the top it doesn't matter..

So just so people know the qualifcation for the Bronze Star~it may be awarded for BRAVERY, acts of MERIT and MERITOURIOUS SERVICE...do you see RANK in that qualification??? So how the hell does a person get denied that medal because they are a Specialist or even a Private? Me personally I could not wear a medal that I did not earn...that medal is a special medal that like the rest of them should be earned not given way because of rank...you earn it for doing something that makes you stand out...sitting in Iraq for a year at a FOB or a JSS at the time earned EVERYONE that medal but only the select few that were higher rank got this medal.

I don't get it...a lot of soldiers give their entire lives to support the military and yet they get treated like garbage...if you listen to the guys at our WTB they all feel the same "The Army used us up and now is treating us like garbage" is the growing thought among these soldiers...the military has to step up and make right by our soldiers and our Wounded Warriors...they did what was asked of them and now its time set things right...if they earned and deserve a medal give it to them...if they didn't earn or deserve the medal don't cheapen the medal by giving it out to everyone...people have to earn things and realize they did something important for that medal..not because they're a SFC(E-7)...

I don't know maybe my problem is I think to much.....

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