Military Honors for a Changing Front (medal for facing IEDs)

[TexasLawyer]

Military Honors for a Changing Front
New Rules Reflect Dangers of Iraq And Afghanistan

By Josh White
Washington Post Staff Writer
Wednesday, October 18, 2006

The wars in Iraq and Afghanistan not only have changed the methods U.S. troops use to fight an urban insurgency, they also have caused the U.S. military services to change the way they look at honoring troops who are fighting on the difficult battlefields.

The Marine Corps this year changed the rules that determine which Marines are eligible for the Combat Action Ribbon, an honor that previously required troops to both receive and return fire against an enemy. Recognizing that the deadliest and most effective enemy weapon in Iraq has been the roadside bomb, officials changed the criteria to include anyone who has been exposed to the detonation of such bombs, known within the military as improvised explosive devices.

"Prior to this, a service member had to be involved in a combat firefight to qualify," said Lt. Col. Jim Taylor, acting head of the Marine Corps' military awards branch. "There was a lot of heartburn over that, especially with the nature of the conflict in Iraq," he said.

Taylor said the Marines reviewed all cases in which the Combat Action Ribbon was denied during the operations in Afghanistan and Iraq in order to apply the new criteria, and out of about 3,400 such cases, 85 were found to meet the award's qualifications. About 75,000 Combat Action Ribbons have been issued for the two conflicts so far, Taylor said.

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http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/10/17/AR2006101701261_pf.html

[saigon68]

1. It's a "FREEDOM ON THE MARCH MOMENT TO REMEMBER"

LOL

And to think we used to collect ears