The ten Congressmen who co-sponsored legislation to oppose the precedence of the new Distinguished Warfare Medal for drone operators, previously approved by the Chairman of the Joint-Chiefs-of-Staff, Gen Martin E. Dempsey, for drone operators whose lives were not in any kind of danger, were successful in their opposition when Secretary of Defense Chuck Hagel cancelled it yesterday.  The proposed medal was approved by Gen Dempsey to have had a higher rank of precedence than the Bronze Star Medal, the Purple Heart Medal, the Air Medal, and the Army, Air Force, & Navy/Marine Corps Commendation Medals for Valor.   The backlash from Capitol Hill had a great deal to do with having Secretary of Defense Chuck Hagel, a Combat Veterans of the Vietnam conflict, tell Gen Dempsey to immediately stop production of the medal, and instead to develop a special pin or device that would be attached to already existing medals or ribbons when they were awarded one of the existing medals for making drone strikes.   Five of the Congressmen who co-sponsored the legislation, Cong Duncan D. Hunter, Capt-USMCR (R-CA-52) http, Cong Michael Coffman, Maj-USMC (Ret) (R-CO-6) , Cong Adam Kinzinger, Cpt-AFNG (R-IL-11), Cong Michael Grimm, USMC/FBI (R-NY-11), and Cong Joe Heck, Col-USAR (MC) (R-NV-3) are endorsed and elected Combat Veterans For Congress.  The other 5 Congressmen who co-sponsored the legislation were Cong Thomas Rooney (R-FL), Cong Tim Murphy (R-PA), Cong C. W. Bill Young (R-FL), Cong Ken Calvert (R-CA), and Cong Steven M. Palazzo(R-MS).  Congressman Hunter had become very concerned by the insensitivity demonstrated by Gen Dempsey and the Pentagon chain of command that approved the proposed new Drone Medal; he drafted legislation in opposition to the approved rank of precedence of the drone medal and sought the support of the co-sponsors for his legislation.

We strongly encourage our national base of supporters to aide Cong Duncan D. Hunter, Capt-USMCR (R-CA-52) http,Cong Michael Coffman, Maj-USMC (Ret) (R-CO-6) , Cong Adam Kinzinger, Cpt-AFNG (R-IL-11), Cong Michael Grimm, USMC/FBI (R-NY-11), and Cong Joe Heck, Col-USAR (MC) (R-NV-3) and the other co-sponsors in their re-election campaigns during the 2014 mid-term elections, by either supporting their campaign financially, encouraging voters in their Congressional District to vote for them, and/or by work in their re-election campaigns.  We encourage all American voters to support the re-election of each of the 17 endorsed Combat Veterans For Congress in the House of Representatives who will be standing for re-election in the 2014 mid-term election.  The profiles and photos of the 17 endorsed Combat Veterans For Congress are posted on the Endorsements page of the below listed Web site.  We also encourage you to forward this E-mail to those in your address book who will support the Combat Veterans For Congress’ in their efforts to protect and defend the US Constitution, to support Veterans issues, and in their efforts to protect the health & welfare of all active duty military personnel.

 

 

 

New Bill Aims To Reduce Rank of Drone Medal

A group of Republican lawmakers have introduced a bill to prevent the Defense Department from establishing the Distinguished Warfare Medal for drone operators as an award that ranks higher than the Bronze Star, Purple Heart, and other Medals issued for Combat.

 

H.R. 833 tells the Defense Department how to set the precedence of medals. According to the Marine Corps Times, there is a strong chance the legislation will end up as an amendment to the 2014 defense authorization bill. The bill was co-sponsored by Congressmen Duncan Hunter (R-CA), Ken Calvert (R-CA), Michael G. Grimm (R-NY), Adam Kinzinger (R-IL), Steven M. Palazzo (R-MS), C.W. Bill Young (R-FL), Mike Coffman (R-CO), Joe Heck (R-NV), Tim Murphy (R-PA), and Thomas J. Rooney (R-FL).

 

TREA: The Enlisted Association believes that the new Distinguished Warfare Medal for operators of unmanned aerial vehicles should not rank above awards for ground combat troops.

 

Congressman Hunter, an Iraq and Afghanistan veteran, told the Marine Corps Times that there is a difference between direct combat and flying a drone from a safe location. “Those engaged in direct combat put their lives on the line, accepting extraordinary personal risk,” Hunter said. “There is nothing wrong with having a military award that recognizes commendable actions off the battlefield, but it’s absolutely necessary to ensure that combat valor awards are not diminished in any way.”