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Navy Doctor Earned Navy Cross He's Not Allowed to Wear
Hate to admit it, but gotta give the hat tip for this to Somewhere out in the fleet, there's a Navy medical officer who earned the Navy Cross during vicious, hammering combat five years ago. And he's not authorized to wear the award -- second only to the Medal of Honor. That's because the 2003 mission, during which the officer fought like a demon and put himself in the line of fire to save several wounded American and Afghan comrades from al-Qaida and Taliban forces, remains classified. And so does his identity. A spokeswoman for the Navy secretary confirmed the existence of the Navy Cross recipient after Navy Times forwarded her a copy of the officer's citation, in which his name is redacted. I'm hoping to see some input from serving folks on this...seems to me that the citation could have been written vaguely enough to eliminate any concerns re OPSEC or the recipient's own safety. So secret was the award that the Navy did not include it when queried as to the number of sailors who have earned the Navy Cross since Sept. 11, 2001. The Navy has now changed the number of recipients from six to seven, even though the seventh award was presented more than a year ago. RTWT at the link. You'll wonder how he's able to walk right with those enormous brass testicles getting in the way...anyhoo, this old ex-squid and Good Conduct Medal recipient salutes you, wherever/whoever you are. Posted by: Ricky bin Ricardo (Abu Babaloo) 2008-11-26 |
| http://www.rantburg.com/poparticle.php?ID=255991 |