{"id":47666,"date":"2015-09-17T17:19:02","date_gmt":"2015-09-17T17:19:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/militarytimes\/uncategorized\/2015\/09\/17\/pentagon-rethinks-valor-awards-as-troops-now-face-worldwide-threat\/"},"modified":"2026-08-08T05:40:26","modified_gmt":"2026-08-08T05:40:26","slug":"pentagon-rethinks-valor-awards-as-troops-now-face-worldwide-threat","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/militarytimes\/news\/2015\/09\/17\/pentagon-rethinks-valor-awards-as-troops-now-face-worldwide-threat\/","title":{"rendered":"Pentagon rethinks valor awards as troops now face &#8216;worldwide threat&#8217;"},"content":{"rendered":"<figure class=\"wp-block-smg-jwplayer-video\"><atype-video-jwplayer nostick=\"true\" playlisturl=\"https:\/\/cdn.jwplayer.com\/v2\/playlists\/fCzRqMW8?tags=0f46e511-3134-4e97-a30f-cb757290dc65\" aspectratio=\"16 \/ 9\" mute autostart=\"false\"><\/atype-video-jwplayer><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Secretary of the Air Force Deborah Lee James talks with Air Force Times staff writer Stephen Losey about Airman 1st Class Spencer Stone&#8217;s heroism and the possibility of broadening valor award requirements.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">When the Air Force sought to honor Airman 1st Class Spencer Stone for his heroic actions in stopping a terrorist gunman on a French train this summer, the options were limited.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>While Stone, who was on leave, risked his life to stop a Moroccan-born gunman <span class=\"rte rte-comment\">killer<\/span> who police say was inspired by Islamic extremism, the incident occurred in the French countryside, far from any declared combat zones.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">So he was not eligible for traditional valor medals like the Bronze Star or Silver Star because those are limited to formal combat zones or military operations against a specified enemy.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Ultimately, the Air Force opted to give Stone an Airman&#8217;s Medal, an honor that technically ranks above the Bronze Star in the military&#8217;s official medals &#8220;order of precedence,&#8221; but is far lesser known because it recognizes heroism &#8220;under conditions other than those of actual conflict with an enemy.&#8221;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">&#8220;He is getting our highest award,&#8221; Air Force Secretary Deborah James said in a recent interview. &#8220;The Airman&#8217;s Medal is the highest award in a non-combat situation that we could possibly award to Airman Stone.&#8221;<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Stone&#8217;s actions in that French train shooting are the latest example of how the military&#8217;s medal and awards system increasingly is seen as antiquated in its failure to keep pace with the changing reality of today&#8217;s threats and the types of valor displayed by some of service members in certain circumstances.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">&#8220;This really is a worldwide threat situation,&#8221; James said, adding that the entire military medals and awards system is &#8220;is being looked at right now within the Department of Defense. We&#8217;re trying to think that through.&#8221;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Indeed, the Pentagon is wrapping up a two-year review of the military&#8217;s decorations and awards system. A final report is on Defense Secretary Ash Carter&#8217;s desk, according to an official familiar with the report.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Carter is expected to approve potentially far-reaching changes to the rules governing awards that in some cases are more than 100 years old. The review will address an array of questions that have arisen since Sept. 11, 2001, as the military has faced an increasing number of nontraditional and &#8220;asymmetrical&#8221; threats.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The Pentagon&#8217;s high-level review began in 2013 amid controversy over a proposed &#8220;drone medal,&#8221; officially known as the Distinguished Warfare Medal. It was intended to honor drone pilots, cyber warriors and others who may not be forward-deployed and facing imminent personal risk, but nevertheless might perform extraordinary missions that have an immediate impact on the battlefield by saving American lives or destroying important enemy targets.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The medal initially was proposed by former Defense Secretary Leon Panetta, a strong personal advocate of drones and their expanded role in national security.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">But it was quashed by his successor, former Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel, a former combat infantryman wounded twice in Vietnam, who questioned whether high-tech skills employed far from any actual battlefield should be conflated with time-honored courage in the face of immediate and potentially deadly danger.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">One potential solution that Carter may be looking at would be to honor drone pilots and cyber warriors with a &#8220;distinguishing device&#8221; that could be added to an existing medal such as the Bronze Star.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The Pentagon is unlikely to ask Congress to revise any laws that govern basic criteria for top medals, according to an official familiar with the current review.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Last year, Congress changed the law governing the Purple Heart to broaden the definition of an attack by a &#8220;a foreign terrorist organization&#8221; to include what&#8217;s become known as &#8220;lone-wolf attacks.&#8221; The new law says troops are eligible if an attack is &#8220;inspired or motivated by the foreign terrorist organization.&#8221;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">That change is allowing the Air Force to award Stone a Purple Heart because the French law enforcement authorities are treating the train shooting as an act of terrorism.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">It remains unclear how the military might recognize those injured or killed in the incident in Chattanooga, Tennessee, on July 16, when four Marines and a sailor were fatally shot at a Navy reserve center. The motive in that shooting remains under investigation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The shooting by 24-year-old Muhammad Youssef Abdulazeez is widely believed to be a &#8220;lone wolf&#8221; terrorist attack, meaning that Abdulazeez received no operational direction from a terrorist organization, but rather was inspired by exposure to propaganda.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The Navy and Marine Corps are waiting the outcome of a U.S. Justice Department investigation before determining whether that incident fits the new Purple Heart criteria.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><em>Staff writers Jeff Schogol and Stephen Losey contributed to this report<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>When the Air Force sought to honor an airman for his heroic actions that stopped a terrorist gunman on a French train this summer, the options were 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