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| Afghanistan |
| Double VC for Afghan heroes reveals ferocity of war against Taliban |
| 2007-09-03 |
| The Brit soldiers do their job, it's the pols and military bureaucracy that's failing. Caught this via Jules Crittendon Two British soldiers from the same battalion have been nominated for the Victoria Cross in recognition of their incredible bravery in the face of the enemy. The citations for Britain's highest gallantry award came after the men were involved in fierce fighting against the Taliban in Afghanistan. The first is Captain David Hicks – who would become the first officer to win the VC since Falklands hero Lieutenant-Colonel Herbert 'H' Jones. The second is believed to be Lance-Corporal Oliver 'Teddy' Ruecker, 20. Last month Capt Hicks, 26, refused morphine when mortally wounded in order to lead a counter-attack against a Taliban rocket assault. In May L/Cpl Ruecker fought off Taliban riflemen to rescue a badly wounded comrade from a burning armoured car. One VC has already been awarded for gallantry in Afghanistan. The fact that there are two more nominations is an indication of the ferocity of the fighting involving British soldiers. The awards would be the first time two soldiers from the same battalion have received the Victoria Cross since the Korean War. L/Cpl Ruecker would be only the second living recipient of the VC in 38 years. Defence sources have told The Mail on Sunday that two VC citations have been written by the soldiers' commanding officers from the 1st Battalion, The Royal Anglian Regiment. Colleagues who witnessed the bravery provided written accounts describing what they saw in great detail. These 'Post Incident Reports' included the duration of the battles, numbers of friendly and enemy casualties and how many men on both sides were killed |
| Posted by:Frank G |
| #9 here's an American Citizens Medal to every War Fighter out there! |
| Posted by: Red Dawg 2007-09-03 22:48 |
| #8 Here is the last list for the Marines that I can find: http://northshorejournal.org/index.php/2007/07/marine-combat-awards-through-june-24 Here is another great source: http://www.homeofheroes.com/valor/02_wot/index.html |
| Posted by: Chuck Simmins 2007-09-03 18:46 |
| #7 Concerning US valor decoration awards - if my reading of the milblogs is correct, the USMC's doing a better job of recognizing and rewarding its people's efforts. I think the Marines have awarded upwards of 10 Navy Crosses, vs (IIRC) only three DSC's for the Army. The Marine awards also seem fairly distributed by rank; on the other hand, one Army wife in a comment on Blackfive stated that the unwritten usual standard for award of significant Army decorations is "be dead, or be an officer". |
| Posted by: Ricky bin Ricardo (Abu Babaloo) 2007-09-03 16:54 |
| #6 That sounds like our guys, Anonymoose. All the ones whose governments let them fight. Some of the early stories about the British units were mind boggling -- do y'all remember that British unit that ran out of bullets, charged with fixed bayonets, and destroyed the enemy? It seems to me the Spaniards did something likewise amazing, before the new government pulled them out of the fight... |
| Posted by: trailing wife 2007-09-03 16:25 |
| #5 An old combat NCO suggested to me that extraordinary heroism has become so commonplace in Iraq and Afghanistan, that it has "priced itself out of the market." He then said the new standards for (Army) valor decorations are as follows: 1) Bronze Star: John Rambo, wipes out enemy battalion single handedly, armed with only a captured enemy spork and 50% blood loss. 2) Silver Star: John Wayne, who wipes out an enemy battalion with a broken enemy spork, single handedly while rescuing his own battalion, and a full hospital, orphanage or elementary school. Concurrently beatification must be pending, prior to Sainthood. 3) Distinguished Service Cross: Hercules, a demi-god, who wipes out an enemy division and gets another one to surrender single handedly, after having lost both legs while "rescuing a bus load of burning orphans", and fending off an invasion of hideous UFO aliens. 4) Medal of Honor: Ends the war by forcing the enemy to surrender after two straight weeks of hand to hand fighting, and is presented his MoH by God, personally, before being adopted by Him. Posthumously, of course. |
| Posted by: Anonymoose 2007-09-03 14:27 |
| #4 I hate to be a buzzkiller. I've driven on painkillers also. However, I have since found that that driving while using legally prescribed painkillers could result in a "driving under the influence" if you should have an accident where someone ends up dead and an investigating officer orders blood tests. |
| Posted by: JohnQC 2007-09-03 13:38 |
| #3 You're clearly special, McZoid. Any painkiller heavier than Tylenol sends me straight to sleep for four to eight hours... and without experience there's no way to know beforehand which way one's body will respond. Especially when the wound is mortal. |
| Posted by: trailing wife 2007-09-03 13:13 |
| #2 Never refuse Morphine. I took 2 separate shots when I had a kidney stone. I drove home both times, against doctor's orders. I was fully functional, except for the lack of road-rage. |
| Posted by: McZoid 2007-09-03 12:16 |
| #1 Meanwhile, several MoH nominations languish in the Pentagon for fear that one of our heroes may turn out to be less than perfect. The Lynch and Tillman media circuses have created a paralysis at DoD. |
| Posted by: Chuck Simmins 2007-09-03 12:04 |