As we commemorate Armed Forces Day, a story has been leaked that America’s fighting men and women in Afghanistan may soon be awarded a medal for not waging war, an award to be given for “courageous restraint” in holding fire to save civilian lives.

This proposal has been making the rounds in the Kabul headquarters of the International Security Assistance Force.

Air Force Lt. Col. Tadd Sholtis explains:

The idea is consistent with our approach.  Our young men and women display remarkable courage every day, including situations where they refrain from using lethal force, even at risk to themselves, in order to prevent possible harm to civilians. In some situations our forces face in Afghanistan, that restraint is an act of discipline and courage not much different than those seen in combat actions.

Just about all of the highest U.S. military decorations are given  for valor in combat.  Soldiers are often recognized for non-combat achievement with decorations such as their service’s commendation medal.   This politically driven award  in recognition of someone’s conscious effort to avoid a combat action would be something else entirely.

This proposal was first revealed by an Associated Press reporter in Afghanistan.  Sholtis said that if the award were approved,  it doesn’t mean that troops would be pressured to put themselves in harm’s way to  prevent killing civilians. (Uh huh.)

We absolutely support the right of our forces to defend themselves.  Valuing restraint in a potentially dangerous situation is not the same thing as denying troops the right to employ lethal force when they determine that it is necessary.

The idea of using awards as another way to encourage soldiers to avoid civilian casualties came from a team that advises NATO on counterinsurgency, or COIN, doctrine, said an official on the inside. He spoke to The Military Times  in exchange for anonymity.

“We routinely and systematically recognize valor, courage and effectiveness during kinetic combat operations,” said a statement recently posted on the NATO coalition’s website by the group, the Counterinsurgency Advisory and Assistance Team.

Joe Davis, a spokesman for the Veterans of Foreign Wars said:

The self-protections built into the rules of engagement are clear, and the decision to return fire must be made instantly based on training and the threat.  The enemy already hides among noncombatants, and targets them, too. The creation of such an award will only embolden their actions and put more American and noncombatant lives in jeopardy. Let’s not rush to create something that no one wants to present posthumously.

Per AFP via google.com, posted on February 17, 2010:

About 15,000 Afghan, US and NATO troops are conducting Operation Mushtarak (Together) against about 400 to 1,000 Taliban fighters in what has been billed as the biggest assault since the 2001 US-led invasion.

An Afghan general said this week that Marjah and the Nad Ali district were almost under control, but officers from the battlefield paint a grim picture of Taliban hiding behind civilians and booby-trapping roads and buildings.

“They have taken civilian people hostages,” said General Mohaidin Ghori, the commander of the estimated 4,400 Afghan troops taking part in the operation in the drug-producing heartland of the southern province of Helmand.

“They put women and children on the roofs of homes and are firing from behind them,” he said.

In one case, rebels were seen firing from the window of a house packed with non-combatants, with a terrified crying child forced to stand in front of the compound, said an Afghan military report, a copy of which was seen by AFP.

The United Nations and our spineless Administration are seeking to play political games using America’s Best and Brightest.  We are fighting an enemy who will kill us without hesitation.  They have no qualms about using their own children as human shields or suicide bombers.  Our troops, because of the way they were raised in the greatest country on Earth, buoyed by the training they received from the finest Armed Forces in the world, do all that is humanly possible to  limit civilian casualties already.  

These clueless Professional Bureaucrats from the U.N. and our own Administration would be risking the priceless lives of our American soldiers for an $18 medal and political expediency.

Sources:  navytimes.com, militarytimes.com, afp via google.com