Citation Honoring Drone Pilots And Other Cyber Warriors Will Become A 'Device' To Be Affixed To Previous Medals

Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel has eliminated the Distinguished Warfare Medal, DOD officials announced Monday. Instead, the military will recognize service members who directly affect combat operations without being present through distinguishing devices that will be affixed to already existing awards.

Soon after being sworn in as defense secretary Feb. 27, 2013, Hagel (pictured) asked Army Gen. Martin E. Dempsey, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, to lead a review of the medal. "The Joint Chiefs of Staff, with the concurrence of the service secretaries, have recommended the creation of a new distinguishing device that can be affixed to existing medals to recognize the extraordinary actions of this small number of men and women," Hagel said in a written release. "I agree with the Joint Chiefs' findings, and have directed the creation of a distinguishing device instead of a separate medal," Hagel said in the release.
 
Hagel added: "The servicemen and women who operate and support our remotely piloted aircraft, operate in cyber, and others are critical to our military's mission of safeguarding the nation." The distinguishing devices will serve to recognize these service members' achievements, he said.
 
The undersecretary of defense for personnel and readiness will develop the award criteria in close coordination with the services and the Joint Staff, officials said.
 
DOD announced the creation of the Distinguished Warfare Medal Feb. 13, 2013. "I've always felt -- having seen the great work that they do, day-in and day-out -- that those who performed in an outstanding manner should be recognized," then-Defense Secretary Leon E. Panetta said during a news conference announcing the medal. "Unfortunately," Panetta added, "medals that they otherwise might be eligible for simply did not recognize that kind of contribution."
 
Members of veterans' service organizations and others objected to the Distinguished Warfare Medal, officials said. The medal's order of precedence was to be just below the Distinguished Flying Cross and just above the Bronze Star. Some commentators objected that it would rank higher than the Purple Heart -- awarded to those wounded or killed in action. "When I came into office, concerns were raised to me about the Distinguished Warfare Medal's order of precedence by veterans' organizations, members of Congress and other stakeholders whose views are valued by this department's leadership," Hagel said.
 
The distinguishing devices can be affixed to awards at different levels, so, once written, the criteria for the awards must reflect that, officials said. For example, the criteria for affixing a device to an Army Commendation Medal would be different than those for a Meritorious Service Medal -- a higher award.

The decision was praised by House Armed Services Subcommittee on Military Personnel Chairman Joe Wilson (R-SC).

“I am very pleased with Secretary of Defense Chuck Hagel’s recent decision to abandon the Department’s previous position of disregarding precedence for the Distinguished Warfare Medal," Wilson said in a statement. "Service members who operate remotely piloted aircraft or participate in cyber operations do deserve our praise; however, awarding them with a medal that takes precedence over a decoration earned in combat is a disservice to those who have put themselves in harms way to protect and defend our freedoms. This change is welcomed by millions of concerned veterans and I am proud that the Secretary sided with the best interests of our brave men and women in the Armed Services who have served in combat.”

The American Legion’s national commander, James E. Koutz (pictured), was among those who had protested the Distinguished Warfare Medal’s proposed ranking, which placed it higher than the Purple Heart and Bronze Star with Combat “V”. Last month, he said that placing the medal above those given for valor and courage under fire was “wholly inappropriate.”

Hagel halted production of the medal on April 5 and directed Joint Chiefs of Staff Chairman Gen. Martin Dempsey to conduct a review of its ranking.

Koutz said that Hagel’s decision kept the evolving roles of military combat in proper perspective. “Cyber and drone warfare have become part of the equation for 21st-century combat, and those who fight such battles with distinction certainly deserve to be recognized. But The American Legion still believes there’s a fundamental difference between those who fight remotely, or via computer, and those fighting against an enemy who is trying to kill them.”

A Vietnam War veteran, Koutz served with Company C in the U.S. Army’s 169th Engineer Battalion and was honorably discharged in March 1971.

FMI: www.legion.org, www.defense.gov, http://joewilson.house.gov