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The new "courageous restraint" medal?
A “courageous restraint” medal? Are they freakin’ kidding?
What next? A medal for “bold & swift retreat”? Somebody cue Sir Robin’s minstrels.
*sigh*
Incorporating such doublethink stupidity into the U.S. military WILL result in more dead American soldiers.
FORWARD OPERATING BASE RAMROD, Afghanistan — NATO commanders are weighing a new way to reduce civilian casualties in Afghanistan: recognizing troops for “courageous restraint” if they avoid using force that could endanger innocent lives.
The concept comes as the coalition continues to struggle with the problem of civilian casualties despite repeated warnings from the top NATO commander, U.S. Army Gen. Stanley McChrystal, that the war effort hinges on the ability to protect the population and win support away from the Taliban.
Those who back the idea hope it will provide troops with another incentive to think twice before calling in an airstrike or firing at an approaching vehicle if civilians could be at risk.
Most military awards in the past have been given for things like soldiers taking out a machine-gun nest or saving their buddies in a firefight, said U.S. Army Command Sgt. Maj. Michael Hall, the senior NATO enlisted man in Afghanistan.
“We are now considering how we look at awards differently,” he said.
[...]
But some U.S. soldiers here at Forward Operating Base Ramrod in Kandahar province are skeptical that the chance of winning an award is going to change the way troops make decisions on the battlefield.“Not a single one of these guys does it for the medals,” said Capt. Edward Graham, referring to the soldiers in his company.
The bad guys know our rules of engagement as well as our own soldiers do, and they use it to their advantage. I think this bonehead idea of rewarding restraint plays right into the hands of the terrorists who hide in mosques and behind women & children in order to deter our soldiers. Our “boots on the ground” see this for what it is.
A U.S. Marine captain who has served in Iraq, said that he understands the intentions of the award but believes “it’s just a bad idea.” He said, “They teach us not to second-guess our decisions in dangerous situations. When people second-guess themselves they can be putting lives at risk.”[O]ther soldiers saw the medal proposal as a reinforcement of troubling rules of engagement. “Unfortunately, we are being reduced to a police force,” said another U.S. soldier. “There are troops that never leave Bagram or Kandahar airfield. … Maybe if they left us all on base and never sent us out to confront the enemy, we could all be honored [for] valor.“
Posted by FullMetalPatriot
12th gen. American, Constitutionalist, Harley-riding Texan, gun owner & NRA member, blogger, illustrator, Florida Gator alumnus. #TCOT
12th gen. American, Constitutionalist, Harley-riding Texan, gun owner & NRA member, blogger, illustrator, Florida Gator alumnus. #TCOT
I always thought that when you went to war, the object was to kill the enemy. Was I wrong?