>>>>Retracted.
>>>
>>>Too slow .... I read your reply.
>>>
>>>Tracy, I was not insulting the soldier who is receiving the Medal of Honor in any way. It may have been expressed poorly enough to give that impression. My post was not about him but about the military PR machine. Yes, he was a hero. Was he more of a hero than others, though? Why him, why now? Announcing it just before 9/11 seems awfully convenient, doesn't it? You don't have to answer these questions, just ponder them.
>>
>>For someone who supposedly spent energy and time in pursuing a career in journalism, you don't spend too much time or energy doing research. It takes months and often years for the process to go through. His actions were in 2007 and were covered in a book as well (which you know if you read my post I retracted).
>>
>>Military PR machine? Who chose now to announce the award? Not the military. The White House. Who leads the White House? Spell it out. If you feel it is PR only then put the blame on your beloved leader and not the military. The military recommends awards, they do not award them. Who awards them? The President. Sgt. Robert J. Miller was announced the day before. Did you miss that?
>>
>>http://www.defense.gov/news/newsarticle.aspx?id=60775
>>
>>The process:
>>http://www.army.mil/medalofhonor/crandall/medal/other.html
>>
>>The following organizations and individuals play key roles in the Army Medal of Honor recommendation process:
>>
>>CHAIN OF COMMAND
>> Submits award reccomendation that meets the two year submission time limit to Department of the Army Personnel Command
>>MEMBER OF CONGRESS
>> Submits award recommendation that is outside the two year limit for submission to Department of the Army Personnel Command or the Secretary of the Army who forwards request to Personnel Command.
>>DEPARTMENT OF THE ARMY PERSONNEL COMMAND
>> Army Decoration Board - Merit Review, can disprove based on criteria (Cdr, HRC can overrule)
>> Senior Army Decorations Board - Recommends approval, disapproval, or downgrade.
>>MANPOWER AND RESERVE AFFAIRS
>> Concurs or nonconcurs with Board recommendation
>>CHIEF OF STAFF OF THE ARMY
>> Concurs or nonconcurs with Board recommendation
>>SECRETARY OF THE ARMY
>> Recommends approval or can disapprove. Also forwards packet to Chairman, Joint Chiefs of Staff for comment.
>>SECRETARY OF DEFENSE
>> Recommends approval or can disapprove.
>>PRESIDENT
>> Approves or disapproves.
>
>You are, of course, absolutely correct on this. The *Congressional* Medal of Honor - its awarding - and especially its timing is a political decision - at the discretion of the Chief Executive.

It is also quite common for recommendations to be downgraded along the chain and then if downgraded, to stop at the level which decided the narrative and evidence supported the awarding of a lower level award (not a good term because all awards are worthy) and not go any further or to proceed only to the level in the chain which has authority to sign off on that award. I think most awards get downgraded at the division level of command. There are some young commanders who will recommend a higher award than can be supported by evidence knowing that it will most likely be downgraded along the chain...especially if they have personal knowledge or experience of the event.

And then there are those who have medals they wear and medals they cannot wear but were awarded...usually for excellence or extreme valor in combat which were not publicly acknowledged combat or war zones....and never will be (or the awardee was not supposed to be there to begin with - sometimes it is just a matter of stumbing into something you didn't expect)....but I don't need to tell you that.... :o)

Update for lurkers:

An award of any level is typically started by the soldier's first line of command unless the commander doesn't initiate an award and a higher level commander is notified of the action and determines an award is justified and instructs the first level commander to initiate one. Most awards don't go any further than division level. Of those that go higher, each commander must sign off on (approve) the submission along the way until the award reaches the level of commander who has the authority to "approve" that award. Some awards can be approved at lower levels, others must go further up the chain. That is the process for most military units of the world.

The most the "military brass" could be accused of (when it comes to awards) is possible embellishment in order to support the award. For higher awards it is very unlikely to survive throughout the process because the higher the award, the more "support and evidence" including interviews and reports and radio transmission etc that are required to support the narrative. Each commander in the chain who signs off on the award also signs off on its veracity. For higher awards, quite a lot of supportive documentation is required.

It is the level of command which has the ultimate authority to "approve" the award (different for each award) which also determines the time of announcing it or awarding it to the soldier or civilian. In the case of the highest medal of this country, the Medal of Honor, that is the Commander in Chief, the President of the United States. He and his administration determine the timing of the announcement.

This is pretty much the case in most countries and is not unique to the U.S. For just about every award, there will be those who believe it is justified and those few who do not. Sometimes soldiers who were at the scene or event will have differing opinions. There are also those who strongly believe that no matter the valor, it is just "doing the job" and not deserving of any award regardless. Soldiers, commanders, and the "military brass" are all people who are human. It is wrong to stereotype them just as it is wrong to stereotype any group.