- Reaction score
- 15
- Points
- 230
I recently returned from Afghanistan in May 08 where my primary job was Honours and Awards, amongst others, such as sharing in the task of casualty/death management.
Prior to the Sacrifice Medal's implementation, I had heard of a medal coming out that was intended to replace the Wound Stripe. You have to really see it to believe it, but there is an unbelievable amount of emotion surrounding Honours and Awards, let alone service medals. Having experienced most of the H&A system in an operational context, I was never a proponent of creating an award that would be so divisive. As I feared, the Sacrifice Medal has done so. I agree that the name is not the best name for the medal as it has caused confusion/anger/etc. over what constitutes a "sacrifice". Who can ultimately decide what was a sacrifice? My family sacrificed for 9 and a half months without me, but this pales in comparison to other families that now have no father, brother, sister, wife, husband. Some people left Afghanistan and other operational places with different injuries, both mental and physical. Who can tell me what constitutes a sacrifice? My point is that there will be many different opinions about what a "sacrifice" is and we will all never agree on them.
As it is unlikely that the medal will be removed from our H&A system, I believe that a name change is in order.
Minor pts about the Wound Stripe are that it was approved at the CO level and it was never given to a deceased mbr, whereas, (I'm not an expert on the Sacrifice Medal), it appears that the Sacrifice Medal's approval has been taken out of the CO's hands (as was for the Wound Stripe) and the SM can be awarded posthumously.
I must still wonder out loud, why did we need a new medal/recognition when we already had the Wound Stripe? There is a tendency to "Americanize" our H&A system, e.g. needing something like the Purple Heart or the Combat Action Insignia. The Wound Stripe did its job and did not create the divisiveness that I now see that the Sacrifice Medal has.
Edit: note that my reference to "Americanize" our H&A system was by no means a slight towards the Americans or their H&A system. I just feel that we should look at our own Canadian situation and implement or change our H&A based on our needs, rather than looking to see what other nations have and implementing something very similar just because they have it.
Prior to the Sacrifice Medal's implementation, I had heard of a medal coming out that was intended to replace the Wound Stripe. You have to really see it to believe it, but there is an unbelievable amount of emotion surrounding Honours and Awards, let alone service medals. Having experienced most of the H&A system in an operational context, I was never a proponent of creating an award that would be so divisive. As I feared, the Sacrifice Medal has done so. I agree that the name is not the best name for the medal as it has caused confusion/anger/etc. over what constitutes a "sacrifice". Who can ultimately decide what was a sacrifice? My family sacrificed for 9 and a half months without me, but this pales in comparison to other families that now have no father, brother, sister, wife, husband. Some people left Afghanistan and other operational places with different injuries, both mental and physical. Who can tell me what constitutes a sacrifice? My point is that there will be many different opinions about what a "sacrifice" is and we will all never agree on them.
As it is unlikely that the medal will be removed from our H&A system, I believe that a name change is in order.
Minor pts about the Wound Stripe are that it was approved at the CO level and it was never given to a deceased mbr, whereas, (I'm not an expert on the Sacrifice Medal), it appears that the Sacrifice Medal's approval has been taken out of the CO's hands (as was for the Wound Stripe) and the SM can be awarded posthumously.
I must still wonder out loud, why did we need a new medal/recognition when we already had the Wound Stripe? There is a tendency to "Americanize" our H&A system, e.g. needing something like the Purple Heart or the Combat Action Insignia. The Wound Stripe did its job and did not create the divisiveness that I now see that the Sacrifice Medal has.
Edit: note that my reference to "Americanize" our H&A system was by no means a slight towards the Americans or their H&A system. I just feel that we should look at our own Canadian situation and implement or change our H&A based on our needs, rather than looking to see what other nations have and implementing something very similar just because they have it.