First of all,Vindman is NOT a "combat veteran" from an Army POV,and secondly,he did NOT earn the CIB he is wearing. Unless they have changed the regulations,the US Army requires you to be in armed combat with an enemy force,and both receive and return fire. He was wounded by a roadside bomb,not in combat. Since there is nothing to fire at while returning fire,he doesn't qualify for a CIB under those grounds,either.
Granted,it is common for "political" officers with a Rabbi to get "gifts" like this. Colon Powell is a perfect example. He spent a whole year with a SVN Army Ranger regiment,and they thought so little of him they didn't give him a single damn thing when his tour was over. Not even a "thanks for visiting and not setting our country on fire" medal.
He got lucky and found a "Rabbi" in Henry Kissinger,who was looking for an articulate and nutless black Army officer looking for a black aide to "prove" he wasn't prejudiced. Kissinger became his Rabbi,and that is how Colon got his bronze star,Purple Heart,and CIB during his second tour in VN as a staff puke for a conventional infantry division. He wasn't wounded,he was injured after a helicopter he was flying in to get from one staff meeting to another staff meeting crashed due to mechanical failure,not gun fire. BUT.....,he needed a PH,valor award,and CIB to further his military career if he was to continue to carry suitcases for Kissinger,so he got them. It does not matter a farts worth in a hurricane what army regulations are when their civilian bosses give them an order to issue awards,they issue awards. They have no choice.
