[JasonC8301]

Per the official Congressional Medal of Honor page:

The Medal is authorized for any military service member who “distinguishes himself conspicuously by gallantry and intrepidity at the risk of his life above and beyond the call of duty

• While engaged in an action against an enemy of the United States;
• While engaged in military operations involving conflict with an opposing foreign force; or
• While serving with friendly foreign forces engaged in an armed conflict against an opposing armed force in which the United States is not a belligerent party."

About the Medal of Honor

Nowadays, there is often no 'front line" and combat can occur anywhere, so clearly there is no requirement of a combat MOS.

+1 times are changing, a lot more homegrown/domestic "terrorist" events.

If someone told me when I was a child that I would be off to war in my late teens, I would have laughed as if it was a joke. But at 17 there I was, yellow footprints.

 

[iota san]

My dad got out alive.

He enlisted to avoid being drafted for Vietnam. He wound up testing well for electronics repair and instead of Vietnam, he was stationed in Germany doing cryptographic repair, fighting the Cold War.

He got really lucky. He's not a hard man. Maybe combat could have brought that out of him but I kind of doubt it. I'm not a hard man either, I never served.

My uncles were not as lucky, two wound up in combat, one was injured in a parachute jump, the other got hepatitis from the heroin going around. I don't know if he got a Purple Heart but he was in the **** and did his service. My last uncle was injured in training and the war ended before he was deployed but he still had to deal with a disability for the rest of his life.

My grandfather did get a Purple Heart and Silver Star when his face got blown off. He was fishing shrapnel out of his body until he died.

If you can be in the rear with the gear, do it. Somebody has to and if it helps you get out alive, perfect.

Your life is more important than any medal.

When I was just out of Highschool I didn't like the idea of taking orders so I didn't consider enlisting. Bill Clinton was president and didn't seem to be starting much ****.

Today, even if orders weren't an issue for me, the leadership just seems stupid. I firmly believe there would be no war in Ukraine if the US military had some brains and did a few little things to dissuade Russia from starting a war. Now our politicians see war in Ukraine as a good thing because it is taxing Russian resources, making Ukraine a Vietnam for them.

Of course they support Ukraine by creating massive debt for you and me.

I believe the best way to fight for peace is to have a strong military. I understand paying for that but our political leadership seems far to anxious to use war rather than diplomacy and foreign policy to promote peace. It's silly signing up to lead that charge.

In the information age, those that fight economic wars for the wealthy are too ignorant to see that through their gilded lens we're no more than expendable servants. When will we ever learn that to them its a board game, like Risk, and they care not one iota for you and me unless we're willing to protect them. The Russian boogeyman is propaganda. We need to take a look in the mirror: we've slaughtered plenty more innocents in otherwise baseless wars than Russia has in the past two decades. To all the John Wayne wannabes out there, wake up.

 

[JasonC8301]

In the information age, those that fight economic wars for the wealthy are too ignorant to see that through their gilded lens we're no more than expendable servants. When will we ever learn that to them its a board game, like Risk, and they care not one iota for you and me unless we're willing to protect them. The Russian boogeyman is propaganda. We need to take a look in the mirror: we've slaughtered plenty more innocents in otherwise baseless wars than Russia has in the past two decades. To all the John Wayne wannabes out there, wake up.

What are you doing to fix it?

 

[LR 47]

My dad got out alive.

He enlisted to avoid being drafted for Vietnam. He wound up testing well for electronics repair and instead of Vietnam, he was stationed in Germany doing cryptographic repair, fighting the Cold War.

He got really lucky. He's not a hard man. Maybe combat could have brought that out of him but I kind of doubt it. I'm not a hard man either, I never served.

My uncles were not as lucky, two wound up in combat, one was injured in a parachute jump, the other got hepatitis from the heroin going around. I don't know if he got a Purple Heart but he was in the **** and did his service. My last uncle was injured in training and the war ended before he was deployed but he still had to deal with a disability for the rest of his life.

My grandfather did get a Purple Heart and Silver Star when his face got blown off. He was fishing shrapnel out of his body until he died.

If you can be in the rear with the gear, do it. Somebody has to and if it helps you get out alive, perfect.

Your life is more important than any medal.

When I was just out of Highschool I didn't like the idea of taking orders so I didn't consider enlisting. Bill Clinton was president and didn't seem to be starting much ****.

Today, even if orders weren't an issue for me, the leadership just seems stupid. I firmly believe there would be no war in Ukraine if the US military had some brains and did a few little things to dissuade Russia from starting a war. Now our politicians see war in Ukraine as a good thing because it is taxing Russian resources, making Ukraine a Vietnam for them.

Of course they support Ukraine by creating massive debt for you and me.

I believe the best way to fight for peace is to have a strong military. I understand paying for that but our political leadership seems far to anxious to use war rather than diplomacy and foreign policy to promote peace. It's silly signing up to lead that charge.

Personally I think our feeble president had a lot to do with this war. It seems this administration want to spend, spend,spend. And no one in congress has the backbone to stop it.

 

[Blanton]

For example, what is the highest award for valor known to have been awarded to an Army motor pool mechanic, an aircraft mechanic, a retention NCO, a supply personnel, a cook, a drill sergeant, a chaplain, a medic or an MP?

It would be interesting to see a compiled list of American military awards for valor including Medal of Honor on the basis of:

-war/event/era
-service branch
-MOS/trade
-rank/pay grade
-position/status (commander, drill sergeant, supply sergeant, squad leader, section sergeant, etc.)

2 of many PAs

Green Beret Physician Assistant receives Soldiers Medal for saving his mentor’s life

Green Beret Physician Assistant receives Soldiers Medal for saving his mentor’s life

www.socom.mil

Louis Richard Rocco, PA - Physician Assistant History Society®

Mr. Louis Richard Rocco was an early PA and the essence of what the profession stands for. He enlisted in the US Army and went on to serve 2 tours in Vietnam and eventually complete a 22 year Army career. His two tours in Vietnam were from November 1965 to 1966 and November 1969 to […]

pahx.org

 

[iota san]

What are you doing to fix it?

The only thing I can do, and that's not subscribe to the elixir they're selling.

 

[bearsftball2003]

Sure they have. Chaplains are the most non-combat of non-combat MOSs. They aren't even allowed to be in charge of combat troops outside of combat. They have been awarded 9 medals of honor, plus distinguished service crosses, silver stars, bronze stars, etc.

A Kentucky National Guard MP was the first woman to get a Silver Star since World War II and the first ever for combat, Nurses got several silver stars in WW I and WW II. A female medic got one in Afghanistan in 2007. The first woman to receive both the Silver Star and the Purple Heart was an Army nurse.

The only Navy Seabee to get the Medal of Honor was Construction Mechanic Third Class Marvin Shields.

79 medical personnel have been awarded the Medal of Honor. In the Army, alone. We are non combatants

 

[RedTeam98]

The Hacksaw Ridge guy, Desmond Doss earned the MOH. He was a medic, but don't know if he qualifies as "non combat", though.
Two of my kids are non-combat Marines - musicians. That MOS has been deployed before, and it's my fervent prayer that they're never put in position to be awarded combat recognition.

Yes that’s a non combat MOS ……it’s just a medic serving in a combat unit . OIF 2 I seen multiple non combat MOS actually in combat. Like the female 240 gunner on the Brigade Commander Security Team that was excellent in Baghdad, unfortunately she was killed by a sniper on a mission. She was a clerk. I was in charge of security for FOB Falcon OIF2 as a NBCNCO. Call sign Red Team 98

 

[bearsftball2003]

A clerk is not a non combatant. Non-combatants are the speciality corps and have a red flag on their ID. As designated by the Red Cross. They would be non- combat MOS but not fall under the Geneva Convention. Hence they do not get the designation as non-combatant.
Medics are non-combatants. 70% of Army has non-combat MOS but they are combatants

Yes that’s a non combat MOS ……it’s just a medic serving in a combat unit . OIF 2 I seen multiple non combat MOS actually in combat. Like the female 240 gunner on the Brigade Commander Security Team that was excellent in Baghdad, unfortunately she was killed by a sniper on a mission. She was a clerk. I was in charge of security for FOB Falcon OIF2 as a NBCNCO. Call sign Red Team 98

 

[bdcochran]

she assaulted a trench line with hand grenades and M203 grenade launcher rounds. Nein and Hester assaulted and cleared two trenches. During the 25-minute firefight, Hester killed 3 insurgents.[

 

[fg17]

In the information age, those that fight economic wars for the wealthy are too ignorant to see that through their gilded lens we're no more than expendable servants. When will we ever learn that to them its a board game, like Risk, and they care not one iota for you and me unless we're willing to protect them. The Russian boogeyman is propaganda. We need to take a look in the mirror: we've slaughtered plenty more innocents in otherwise baseless wars than Russia has in the past two decades. To all the John Wayne wannabes out there, wake up.

People join for a LOT more reasons than patriotism or to serve "them".

 

[walkinguf61]

A great example is Desmond Doss. A conscientious objector who earned the MOH . They made a movie about him and the end of the movie shows an interview with the real man.
Hacksaw Ridge.

Here is a documentary

 

[Blanton]

A great example is Desmond Dass. A conscientious objector who earned the MOH . They made a movie about him and the end of the movie shows an interview with the real man.
Hacksaw Ridge.

Here is a documentary

Previously mentioned in this thread, and last name is Doss not Dass

 

[walkinguf61]

Previously mentioned in this thread, and last name is Doss not Dass

Thank you. Typo corrected.

 

[Detectorist]

The Hacksaw Ridge guy, Desmond Doss earned the MOH. He was a medic, but don't know if he qualifies as "non combat", though.
Two of my kids are non-combat Marines - musicians. That MOS has been deployed before, and it's my fervent prayer that they're never put in position to be awarded combat recognition.

If they wanted non combat, they should have joined the Air Force.

 

[WT]

Four enlisted US Navy divers, Chief Machinist’s Mate William Badders, Chief Boatswain’s Mate Orson L. Crandall, Chief Metalsmith James H. McDonald and Chief Torpedoman John Mihalowski, were awarded the Medal of Honor for their work during the rescue and salvage of the submarine USS Squalus in 1939.

Squalus was raised and renamed the Sailfish. She served in World War II.

 

[RedTeam98]

If they wanted non combat, they should have joined the Air Force.

I am Retired Army OIF2 and Desert Storm / Shield
The Air Force TAC Air and Air strikes we needed badly show respect please ! Walk the rows at Arlington Cemetery!
It’s a team effort all branches are valuable assets that have given their life.

SFC Retired
Red Team 98