FROM THE AMERICAN WAR LIBRARY (amervets.com)

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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