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New Medal Designed To Honor Cyber Soldiers

Posted by samzenpus on from the achievement-unlocked dept.

bios10h writes "The Boston Globe writes that the Pentagon is creating a new medal to honor cyber soldiers. '[The] troops who launch the drone strikes and direct the cyber-attacks that can kill or disable an enemy may never set foot in the combat zone. Now their battlefield contributions may be recognized with the first new combat-related medal to be created in decades. Defense Secretary Leon Panetta announced Wednesday that the Pentagon is creating a medal that can be awarded to troops who have a direct impact on combat operations, but do it well away from any combat zone.'"

13 of 230 comments (clear)

  1. Let me guess by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Funny

    Does it start out bronze, silver, and then gold? And do you get a platinum one if you collect all of the other medals?

    1. Re:Let me guess by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Funny

      Nah, it is just one medal that has a digital meter that continually updates your gamerscore.

    2. Re:Let me guess by Scoldog · · Score: 5, Funny

      When you get the platinum medal, it also unlocks new countries to fight in and new and improved drone weapons

      Not only do you have to kill a certain amount of people (civilians, enemies, womp rats, whatever), you also have to do pointless tasks like do 15 barrel rolls in a row with a drone to earn certain medals.

      Anyone else?

      --
      This space for rent
    3. Re:Let me guess by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 4, Funny

      ACTUALLY..

      the drones like the predator rely on satellites for control.. .. this actually means that if the pilot turns too sharply (which the drone allows him to do) he can lose contact with the satellite and.. therefore, control..

      doing a barrel roll is very unlikely!!

      That's why it's worth more points.

      10 pts Performed a barrel roll
      15 pts Completed a training mission
      25 pts Completed a combat mission with an all female (or male) squad
      50 pts Killed 20 enemy commanders in 20 minutes
      100 pts Completed campaign in hard mode
      200 pts Killed an enemy at the same time as chatting with them in an online chat room

  2. Err ... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Insightful

    Isn't the whole point of medals to reward someone for putting their life on the line to protect their country?

    I'm sure these drone pilots are doing a good job and all but I wonder how their life could possibly be on the line in a nice cushy bunker somewhere.

    I suspect this medal may well end up being called a Clayton's medal, the medal you get when you're not getting a medal.

    Captcha: evasion: something drone pilots don't have to worry about too much :-)

    1. Re:Err ... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 4, Informative

      "Isn't the whole point of medals to reward someone for putting their life on the line to protect their country?"

      No. The point of medals is recognition for service. The military awards plenty of medals that have nothing to do with combat.

    2. Re:Err ... by caffiend666 · · Score: 5, Insightful

      Not all awards are for risking ones life. Some, like the Army service ribbon are given simply for completing training. Some medals are given for achievements not necessarily related to heroism, like the Army Commendation Medal. Technically speaking, people are risking their lives to complete basic training, though.

      Although there are no significant physical risks in fighting remotely, these service members are still going through significant stress and risking PTSD in their jobs. Yes, 'it's like playing a video game'. But there are real lives on the line, there is no pause button, and possibly endless days doing a single task. Doesn't matter if it's just pushing buttons in an airconditioned room, they lose sleep and their sanity just the same. Not to mention watching films of people dying, the ones they just killed.

      I've read of facebook image filterers suffering from PTSD and depression. Now, imagine if those image filterers had to decide not just whether to block the image, but also whether to kill the people in the pictures.

      --
      Here's to losing my Karma Bonus again....
    3. Re:Err ... by deimtee · · Score: 4, Informative

      "Claytons" was a spirit style drink that didn't actually contain any alcohol. ie, you could drink "Claytons and Soda" or "Claytons on the rocks" all night and still drive home. It was targeted at designated drivers and others who couldn't drink but still wanted to socialise.
      They ran a massive ad campaign for a few years in Oz - "The drink you have when you're not having a drink" and it became a generic (mildly insulting) term that implied something wasn't real, or didn't have the content it should have.

      --
      I'm guessing that wasn't on their radar screen...
  3. Order of Precedence by anglico · · Score: 5, Insightful

    If you want to give out a medal for flying a drone, fine, I don't have a huge problem with it as long as you're great at it. What really irritates me and a lot of other service members is it's ranking in the 'order of precedence'. What I've read is it ranks above some combat medals, specifically the Bronze Star, which is really pissing off the 'boots on the ground' troops and I don't blame them for being mad.

  4. will they play this when awarding it? by Pax681 · · Score: 4, Funny

    Roger Waters - The bravery of being out of range

  5. Stress by Baldrake · · Score: 4, Insightful

    The Christian Science Monitor had an interesting piece a while back on the stress of remotely participating in combat:

    At the end of the day, these pilots get in their cars and drive home to their families, mow the lawn and make dinner, or take their children to soccer practice.

    The result is an "existential conflict" in some UAV pilots, says Col. Hernando Ortega, surgeon for the Air Force Intelligence, Surveillance, and Reconnaissance Agency. It is "a guilt feeling, perhaps – or a 'Did I make the right decision?' " he explains." 'Was this a friendly fire incident? Was it a good outcome? Was it a bad outcome? Could I have done it better?'"

    It's obviously not comparable to driving a LAV in convoy wondering when the next IED is going to detonate. But it appears to be a much tougher job than many of us would think.

    1. Re:Stress by Mitreya · · Score: 4, Insightful

      ... stress of remotely participating in combat

      The result is an "existential conflict" in some UAV pilots, says Col. Hernando Ortega, surgeon for the Air Force Intelligence, Surveillance, and Reconnaissance Agency. It is "a guilt feeling, perhaps â" or a 'Did I make the right decision?'

      Mayhaps part of the problem is that some of the drone-related operations are so blatantly wrong that soldiers who are executing them must feel the inevitable guilt. Not "was it right or was it wrong?", but "why did I just kill a group of civilians on purpose?".

      For example, an attack on the funeral procession of "militants" killed earlier in the day
      (quotes around militants are added by me, since at least nowdays that is defined as "adult males")

  6. Purple Mouse by nick_davison · · Score: 4, Funny

    Isn't the whole point of medals to reward someone for putting their life on the line to protect their country?

    That, sir, is un-American thinking. Those brave young men and women put their carpal tunnels on the line for you every day and they haven't even been granted a Purple Mouse in recognition.