Yeah, I don’t think that this medal would have been given to the Guard, had yesterday’s incident not occurred. Pretty obvious it was done in an attempt to save face.
Do we know what committee is supposed to authorize it, and/or how long the process usually takes?
Usually, nomination comes from the proposed honoree’s unit command, approved at a command level or higher.
The Secretary of Defense is the ultimate authority, so it wouldn’t be completely improper, just a massive shortcutting of rhe usual process.
Yes, admonishing the Secretary and his party is definitely someone who
distinguished themselves by meritorious achievement or service in a joint duty capacity.
(From your above Wiki link)
What a fucking joke.
So obvious, and it almost makes it worse because it is. Like spraying perfume in an elevator after a fart. I wonder how the recipient feels about receiving a medal under such stupid circumstances.
Probably terrible. I’ve had a few times in my life when someone in authority publicly did something wrong, and to make up for it they put me on a stage (figuratively or literally) and gave me an award to make up for it. Like when I was in school and I lost a spelling bee because I gave the correct answer and they had it written incorrectly in their key, they later acknowledged it over the loudspeaker of the school and gave me a “Franklin Spelling Ace” device as an apology.
To me, I was already feeling awful from what happened in front of the whole school, and then it compounded the issue when they drew attention again with the apology.
I’ve had similar situations at work. Dragging me into the spotlight again after a humiliating time in the spotlight isn’t making up for the problem, it’s just doubling down on it. And I know they’re only doing it for themselves, not for me. If they wanted to make it right, apologize in private to me and let whatever recompense happen out of the public.
I think you’re giving these people way too much credit. They’ve proven time and time again that they’re not playing 4D chess here.
Retaliating against the guy was probably Hegseth’s first instinct, but even he realizes that doing so right now would be an idiotic move. Awarding a medal instead creates a nice little bit of PR, shows that he can be magnanimous when the situation calls for it, and, most importantly, quickly pushes the entire incident out of the news cycle.
If Hegseth had punished the soldier, the public outcry would probably have been so great that it might even have pushed enough Republicans into the impeachment camp for him to lose his job. Keep in mind the articles of impeachment aren’t officially dead yet. They’re just in committee at the moment, which means they can still be acted upon. And the Democrats can of course bring up their own impeachment articles once they take power. Hegseth is smart enough to realize that the main reason he’s able to hang on to his job is because most Republicans are still afraid of crossing his boss. But that can quickly change.
I suspect he was going that way and someone managed to talk him down. I doubt he came to that conclusion on his own.
I would keep an eye on the Guard’s service record down the line for shenanigans.
I agree, if they wanted to stage this, especially if they were doing it to make him look good, they wouldn’t have made him the asshole in the situation. They’d plant someone in the crowd to make a scene, wait for the guard to do his job and reprimand them, then give the guard an award for the amazing (dare I say meritorious*) way he handled the situation.
If he’s going to keep doing this, he should get some challenge coins made and hand those out instead of diluting what the actual medals mean to people. They’d only cost a few bucks and handing them out to smooth things over or just to make himself look good on the internet wouldn’t require any paperwork or a big planned ceremony or anything.
*I don’t dare say it. I’m guessing it’s something all the guards have to do on a regular basis. ISTM this is like giving an award to a guard outside Buckingham Palace for maintaining their composure while a tourist tried to make him laugh and played the ‘I’m not touching you’ game.