Iraqi Medal of Commitment
Lucky sends us a link to Medals of America which is saying that there will soon be a new medal for Iraq veterans called the Iraqi Medal of Commitment issued by the Iraqi government. This is supposedly text from the letter to the Secretary of Defense from the Iraqi Minister of Defense;
It is our intention that the medal be awarded to military personnel who served in Iraq as part of the armed forces of the United States and other coalition nations. To qualify to receive the medal, service members must have served for 30 consecutive days or for 60 non-consecutive days within the borders of Iraq, within its territorial waters, or within its airspace during the period of March 19, 2003 to December 31, 2011.
Yeah, I know you didn’t do it for the medals, but it’s nice to know that someone in Iraq appreciates your selfless service to their country. And, oh, this is by no means authorization for you to wear the medal this morning, it’s only a proposal at this point.
Category: Military issues
Since we have the GWOT-S/E and the Iraq Campaign Medal…..I’m fairly certain this will go the way of the Cold War Medal.
CI-I’m not so sure, we have the SWA Campaign medal for GW1 and still have the Saudi and Kuwaiti Liberation medals. There is precedent for this with the Phillipine presidents Phillipine Defence and Phillipine Liberation medals given to Bataan vets and the men who landed on Leyte and Luzon.
Good money says the Iraqi gov’t collapses before the medal becomes a reality….
This is the same government that put out an arrest warrant for their own VP? WTF?
Also here is a question.
How did they know about a final pull out date in the early part of this year when the decision to leave was very last minute? I mean even the ICM does not have a close out date? Also the only source is a company that produces the medals? This sounds like a conflict of interests.
Where are they going to get the cash to mint the medals? My guess is that, if authorized, the cost of the medal will be out of your pocket.
#4 Sporkmaster,
The decision to leave was not last minute. The withdrawal timeline was part of the SOFA negotiations that were finalized in 2008 between the Bush administration and the Iraqi government. This was actually a sticking point that held up the SOFA negotiations for a few months. The Iraqi government was requesting a much shorter withdrawal timeline than the US government was comfortable with. In they end they compromised, but the Iraqi government was adamant that no US troops would remain in Iraq after 2011. We currently still have 152 there in the embassy, but they have no weapons and have passports and visas issued by the Iraqi government.
There goes another $10 to the AAFES machine.
I started taking off ribbons off my rack after my last award. 9 yrs service, 1 short-tour deployment and a bunch of other shorter in and out mini-deployments, and I look like the president of a banana republic in my dress uni. My favorite is the “everybody gets a trophy just for participating” ones: AF Outstanding Unit award, Meritorious Unit award. Never mind the “I was a trainable” Basic Training Ribbon.
I’m proud of my service but there’s a limit to the ass-hattery fruit salad.
Please God don’t make me rerack my shit to accommodate another “thanks for playing” gimme.
Raven – don’t forget the “I defended my country” (National Defense) ribbon and the “I can fire a gun and actually hit the target” ribbon…
That medal looks phonier than a mourner at Kim Jong Il’s funeral.
I’m going to guess this isn’t real; if it were I’m not sure I even want it.
As I commented on thus link on Facebook with the buddy who originally posted it, oh joy, one more fucking medal, I don’t even keep track until promotion board time, but with a Senior NCO board coming up, and a DA photo needing to get done, I guess I have to…….
Arby–I felt the same way about the NDSM, but some SNCO corrected me–generations of folks didn’t get those since were weren’t at war and it’s the only one I share w/my Grandfather and a few other family members who were in WWII.
And I wear my marksmanship w/pride–because sadly, in the AF, not too many folks shoot well enough to earn it.
12: Lucky, do you get promotion points in the Army for foreign medals?
There are no points awarded for service medals, US or otherwise. Only personal awards count like the ARCOM, AAM and GCM.
The “Cold War” medal was attached to the just passed NDAA bill….
@Raven – I’m the same way. I think of all the ribbons I have the NDSM means the most to me, simply because my Grandfather had one (WWII), my Uncle had one (Korea), and my father (who enlisted rather than stick around to be my dad) had one (Vietnam). Sure, everyone who enlists now gets one, but that doesn’t take away from the meaning of it to me.
So how are they going to handle that one with who gets and does not get the cold war medal.
my take, it looks fake. But if it is real and it is coming in as a foreign award. . . fine by me. Bout time I get some gratitude from the Iraqis
What Doc, the dysentery, falafels, chi, and sand mites wasn’t enough gratitude for you?
Not sure what happened with your food, but I never got sick from any of the local food in Iraq.
But as far as the medal goes this seems very fake. I mean something like this only on this site? I may email HRC and ask what is going on. As far as I know there has only been one Iraqi medal given to a US Solider and he was a General.
actually I got Dysentery far too often. Every little piece of ribbon and tin helps me forget the vomiting and POMA (pissing out my ass)
The only news I’ve seen from reputable sources is that Maliki presented VP Biden with a “medal of commitment” at the ceremony on 1 Dec, dubbed the ‘day of commitment’.
When people use the word “commitment” in speaking to Joe Biden, it may have a different meaning than what we’re talking about.
http://www.bipolarlifestyles.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/04/insane-asylum-brentwood.jpe
So that medal that was unveiled was for him rather the the troops I take it? I sent a email to HRC and should get a reply soon.
I think they would have given it to a monkey in a suit and tie, if that’s who we sent.
Don’t quote me on this but I think its like fifteen points per foreign medal…
hahahaha… i dont want it… i earned every medal and badge i have. being in the corps; it just looks like something i pulled out of the cracker jack box like are gear. it would be nice to get to a 4th row… but seriously i do not want it. it would be like hey i made it through air force bootcamp ribbon… its cool you all get it and all, but do you really want it? if you think about it. when it is time for inspections and the ball; how much more money will you have to pay to get these ribbons/medal and to get them mounted or setting them up.
I’m not gonna Lie, whoever dreamed up that medal is probably high on something. At least with the Saudis you could get the whole “we used to be British protectorate” thing the Kuwaiti one even made sense. 28 has a point.
but if the Iraqis want to give me somethign for wasting two years of my life. . . I should think giving me something in the general shape of all the boobs I didn’t get to play with during that time, would be very nice of them.
Lucky
There are no points for foreign awards/badges.
Doc. This could be the sample rather then the final thing. I got a email back from Medals of America that was not helpful in regards to were they got their information. I have not heard back from HRC.
Thanks for the correction Spork, I don’t really pay attention to my ribbon rack unless its promotion time.
I’m just wondering how that would apply to those like me? I was in Iraq for forty-eight hours before I was blowed the fuck up by an IED. After that, it was Germany for a month and the Walter Reed Veterinary Center for another three.
I imagine that just like the other medals that hostile action will exempt from the time requirement.
(1) Be engaged in combat during an armed engagement, regardless of
the time in the area of eligibility.
(2) While participating in an operation or on official duties, is
wounded or injured and requires medical evacuation from the area of
eligibility.
http://edocket.access.gpo.gov/cfr_2008/julqtr/32cfr578.30.htm
Yeah, there was no enemy engagement. I was on the ground early in the war. I didn’t even get a purple heart. Hell, all I got out of it was a partial kneecap made by Hasbro and a fat ass from sitting at a desk for a year and a half. Though, in that time, I was able to get my fives.
I hear that it is DOA due to cost. The Iraqi’s won’t pay for the first issue to the 1 Million US vets. That may not be all the issues but I hear it is the big one keeping this from happening…
Cheap bastards, all things considering with all the money that got wasted in that dump (country). The apple doesnt fall far from the tree I see. They will continue to take and keep asking for more (and the US kept doing just that)and get nothing in return. They should use those CERP funds and all other allocated money that was supposed to be used to rebuild to create these. Granted I got mixed emotions in regards to this “award”, still none the less it is a good “gesture” on their behalf. When I say “gesture”, its just that and nothing more, ungrateful/selfish people.
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This is a very attractive medal. It is a sad thing that so many Americans and Iraqis had to die and become disabled for nonexistent “Weapons of Mass Destruction”.
That said, I am also annoyed to hear that the first recipient of this medal was Biden. When the hell does Bide, Obama, or any other politicians who never served in the military get the authority to receive this medal?
So when are we getting the medal? Will I still be alive?