Remember the days when generals and admirals like Marshall, Eisenhower, and Nimitz chose to wear only a single row of ribbons on their uniforms? When to be "mentioned in the dispatches"
was sufficient praise and reward for daring feats of valor? Judging by the rows of medals and ribbons crowding the uniforms of today's troops, those days are long gone. To cite only one example, General David Petraeus sports nine rows of ribbons on his left breast, capped off by the Combat Action Badge, a new badge for non-infantrymen otherwise ineligible for the much-respected Combat Infantryman Badge.
Such badge and ribbon proliferation, in and of itself, is largely harmless, unless we take ourselves too seriously and start believing the hype and self-congratulation these ribbons represent. More serious is the debasement of combat medals in Iraq and Afghanistan, notably the Bronze Star. As one Army master sergeant wrote me, "I know of soldiers who have repeatedly put themselves in harm's way, killed many of our enemies, and are awarded only a Bronze Star. Meanwhile, officers who never leave the FOB [forward operating base], and stand more chance of getting carpal tunnel syndrome than hit by a bullet, routinely receive the same medal."
Awarding medals primarily on the basis of the recipient's rank—not on his or her actions in combat—is both pernicious and dishonest. One Army sergeant who served a 16-month tour in Iraq wrote me that, "The upper chain of command all received Bronze Stars. My friends made references like, 'They are passing them out like candy' and 'How the hell did that Fobbit receive that.' FYI, Fobbit is a term used for men and women who never leave the FOB. I and my fellow Soldiers were disgusted with these acts." It's a disgust I share, in part because my uncle, Army Private Frederick Wilder, earned a Bronze Star while fighting the Japanese and malaria on Guadalcanal.
When the officer corps awards itself Bronze Stars for relatively cushy assignments, it falls prey to careerism and a toxic culture of me-first entitlement. Worse, it loses some of the confidence and respect of young, impressionable enlisted men and women. Furthermore, medals awarded on a basis of rank, rather than comportment, soon lose their luster. This even happened to the Medal of Honor during the Civil War when it was awarded too freely in an attempt to boost morale. Some had to be rescinded decades after the war was over.
A different problem plagues the award of the Medal of Honor today—a painstakingly slow pace of review. More than three years after his courageous and self-sacrificing efforts in Fallujah, Marine Sergeant Rafael Peralta's family still awaits official government recognition of his bravery (See "Uncommon Valor," December 2007 Proceedings, pp. 58-60). Taking pains is one thing, but requiring a review process that in its exhaustiveness is reminiscent of Catholic procedures to canonize saints is invidious to those troops who have clearly displayed the highest level of courage in battle.
What is to be done? Faster and fewer should be our bywords. First, we need to fast-track awards of valor for the clearly deserving. Families should not have to wait three years for their loved ones to be recognized. Second, we need to recognize the wisdom of the saying, "Less is more." Let's eliminate all of the "everyman" ribbons; the "been there" ribbons; the occupational specialty ribbons like "recruiting"; the humanitarian/volunteer ribbons (shouldn't altruistic acts be their own reward?); even the "recognition" and "achievement" ribbons. (We should still recognize people for achievement; we just don't need multiple ribbons to do it.)
Let's keep our combat ribbons and badges but ensure rank equity of the same. Let's keep our commendation, meritorious, and distinguished service medals but again keep rank equity. Why does an O-6 who retires receive a Legion of Merit or higher award, whereas senior enlisted men and women with equivalent service often receive a lesser medal? Military awards and decorations should not be our equivalent to golden handshakes for departing CEOs.
If we're truly looking for a quicker and leaner military, a great place to start is with our slow and fat awards and decorations process. George C. Marshall, a minimalist with his medals, would silently nod his approval.