SALON

Tuesday, Mar 12, 2013 8:50 PM UTC

Hagel orders review of drone pilot medal

Defense secretary responds to outrage that the honor would outrank battlefield combat medals

By

Topics: Drones, drone pilots, Chuck Hagel, distinguished warfare medal, purple heart, veterans, ,

Hagel orders review of drone pilot medal (Credit: Shutterstock/OneSmallSquare)

Following outrage from veterans groups and lawmakers that a new medal could honor UAV operators more highly than combat troops awarded Purple Hearts and Bronze Stars, newly appointed Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel has ordered a review of the award.

As HuffPo’s Amanda Terkel explained:

The newly created Distinguished Warfare Medal, approved last month by then-Defense Secretary Leon Panetta, will honor members of the military for “extraordinary” achievements since Sept. 11, 2001. The accomplishments do not have to be restricted to a geographic region, meaning that remote warfare — such as drone operations — could be recognized.

What upset many of the medal’s critics was not the creation of the award, but its so-called “order of precedence” that would put it above several traditional combat medals.

There’s little question as to whether drone pilots give a lot of themselves and can suffer the consequences of their role in attacks that can cause civilian death and devastation. German newspaper Der Spiegel last year ran a stirring profile of a U.S. military drone pilot talking of the trauma of realizing he’d remotely killed a child in Afghanistan.

Yet there’s little doubt that drone pilots play different roles and embody different subjectivities than on-the-ground military members. With the medals in mind, a primary issue is that drone pilots do not put their bodies on the line. As filmmaker Alex Rivera suggested to the New Inquiry’s Malcolm Harris in an interview, “the drone pilot has a type of vision that no military actor has had before, that of lingering, of observing over extended periods of time, and doing so with absolutely no threat to oneself.”

But as Panetta noted when he announced the creation of the award in February, “remotely piloted platforms and cyber systems” have “changed the way wars are fought.” How the military will value those who carry out new forms of warfare, compared to troops that continue to put their lives at risk, remains an open question. However, the failing infrastructures for taking care of veterans from Iraq and Afghanistan — which has seen thousands of vets go homeless and without treatment for PTSD – gives some indication of how on-the-ground troops are valued.

Terkel reported that “no one has been awarded the Distinguished Warfare Medal yet, and no one will receive it while the review is going on. The Defense official said that the service secretaries were still writing criteria for the award.”

Natasha Lennard

Natasha Lennard is an assistant news editor at Salon, covering non-electoral politics, general news and rabble-rousing. Follow her on Twitter @natashalennard, email nlennard@salon.com. More Natasha Lennard.

Next Article

You Might Also Like

More Related Stories

Featured Slide Shows

Gripping photos: The people of the Turkey protests (slideshow)

close X
  • Share on Twitter
  • Share on Facebook
  • Thumbnails
  • Fullscreen
  • 1 of 11
  • The protests take on a festive element as police forces move out of the park and square. Wearing a gas mask, this young man dances to traditional Turkish music in front of Taksim Square’s Ataturk Monument.

  • In Gezi Park since March 31st, this protester, originally caught off-guard by the Government’s teargas and water cannons, went out and bought a Russian army mask from WWII, preparing for what was to come.

  • This rambunctious boy seems to be enjoying the chaos. After taking this picture he threw a stone at the already destroyed building in the background.

  • Forming a line, the police face off directly with protesters in Taksim Square. After a while, they retreated and there was a general cheer – a back-and-forth dance that has been common since the beginning of this protest.

  • An elderly woman in Gezi Park reads the news. The tent community occupying the park was violently destroyed on June 16th.

  • Many different groups had set up booths to promote their cause in Taksim Square and Gezi Park. Standing in front of one, this man waves his flag while posing with conviction.

  • Many home-remedies are used to minimize the effects of tear gas. This woman has put a milky solution on her face, removing her mask after the tear gas dissipated. Before sunrise, the police came again for another round of teargasing.

  • People capitalize on the uprising -- selling flags, beer, gas masks, sky lanterns and spray paint to name just a few of the popular items.

  • On Monday morning, June 11, the police execute a strong offensive. Many plain-clothed police officers, like the ones seen here, clash with protesters in the side streets away from the main stand-off in Taksim.

  • The authorities seem to be most aggressive in the night, pushing protesters away from the square and park. After being teargassed this young woman catches her breath with other protesters on Siraselviler Street.

  • Recent Slide Shows

  • Share on Twitter
  • Share on Facebook
  • Thumbnails
  • Fullscreen
  • 1 of 11

Related Videos

More Related Stories

Comments

 10 Comments

Comment Preview

Your name will appear as username ( settings | log out )

You may use these HTML tags and attributes: <a href=""> <b> <em> <strong> <i> <blockquote>

follow salon

Most Read

Popular on Reddit

links from salon.com

From Around the Web

Presented by Scribol
listener_new_rect The Listener: "We Are All Completely Beside Ourselves": Growing up primate

Recommendations