It’s time to stop awarding the Global War on Terrorism Service Medal
The routine of getting the award has become so perfunctory that it's essentially meaningless.
By Austin J. Dahmer | Updated Oct 8, 2021 1:06 PM
CHICAGO, IL - MAY 17: Illinois Army National Guard veteran Aaron Hughes holds up his Global War on Terrorism Expeditionary Medal and War on Terrorism Service Medal during a protest with Iraq Veterans Against the War in the Loop May 17, 2012 in Chicago, Illinois. (Photo by Scott Olson/Getty Images).
SHARE
A 19-year-old Marine private completing his first month in the Fleet Marine Forces had to go to his nearest post exchange to buy a medal this morning. Officially, this medal recognizes his support for operations to counter terrorism after the attacks of Sept. 11, 2001. In reality, everyone gets this medal regardless of their job in the military, or whether they performed any tasks that had anything to do with bringing terrorists to justice, either at their home station or while deployed overseas. No ceremony accompanied this purchase (unless you count uniform inspections from the Marine’s fire team leader, squad leader, and platoon sergeant to ensure that his new medal was affixed to his Service “Charlie” uniform shirt with the same precision with which he aimed his service rifle on qualification day). In fact, no written citation accompanied this medal, either. This routine, performed continuously across the United States armed forces for close to two decades, has become so perfunctory as to become essentially meaningless.
It is past time for the Department of Defense to stop awarding the Global War on Terrorism Service Medal. Continuing the current practice of awarding the medal to every service member who completes 30 days in an operational unit, regardless of their participation in any deployment or operation related to counterterrorism, devalues their service and hinders the military’s widespread understanding of the current strategic reality.
Napoleon famously recognized that “a soldier will fight long and hard for a bit of colored ribbon.” Though perhaps intended cynically, his words are an incisive commentary on human nature. Medals are a part of military culture, and although most service members will act outwardly to the contrary, most would admit among themselves in private that they do in fact care about decorations – or at least did when they were young. Perhaps the best evidence of this is the value American society assigns to military service, and even the incidences of “stolen valor” among those who never served themselves. Continuing to award the GWOT Service Medal to service members in this way – as a sort of military participation trophy unaccompanied by any charade of ceremony, respect, or cultural appreciation for its meaning – perversely devalues their service. Medals are also a way for the military to honor its history, both individually and collectively. That service is now beginning to take on a much different form than during the zenith of the Global War on Terrorism, however.
https://taskandpurpose.com/opinion/global-war-terror-medal/
