Medals & Misfires

Military Times special feature that honors good deeds and smart actions in the military, and takes jabs at the mistakes and missed opportunities.

MEDAL: Underwater discoveries help us remember history, honor the fallen

The crew of the Research Vessel Petrel, led by Microsoft co-founder Paul Allen, is on a roll.

4 years ago

MISFIRE: DoD shouldn’t have waited so long to approve danger pay for troops in Niger

The Defense Department on March 8 announced that troops deployed to Niger, Mali and northern Cameroon qualify to receive imminent danger pay/hostile fire pay, retroactive to June 7, 2017.

4 years ago

Medals & Misfires

MEDAL: Marine Corps fitness test offers smart alternative to running

The other services should pay attention.

MISFIRE: California teacher’s military tirade is just plain vile

The daggers flew this weekend when a disparaging military rant by a California high school teacher went viral.

4 years ago

MISFIRE: Airman’s trumpet-sounding ignorance on Facebook makes everyone look bad

A technical sergeant from Nellis Air Force Base in Nevada came under fire recently after she shared a racially-charged, expletive-laced rant to Facebook.

4 years ago

MEDAL: Killing ISIS with entrenching tools? Yes, please

CSM Troxell's words were motivating, to say the least.

4 years ago

MEDAL: Thank you for your service, MQ-1 Predator

The U.S. military's original unmanned recon drone will retire officially this summer.

4 years ago

MISFIRE: Looks like the Navy is lowering standards

The Navy is retaining more sailors who are failing fitness tests and not getting promoted.

4 years ago

MEDAL: Reversing the drawdown in Europe

The U.S. is investing about $200 million to fix and build air bases in Eastern Europe.

4 years ago

MISFIRE: The sailor who spotted Peter Mims and then went back to bed

This sleepy sailor had the opportunity to be a hero.

4 years ago

MEDAL: All eligible Army specialists and sergeants to go before promotion boards

The new rule will help the Army retain and maximize talent, and also ensure fewer leadership positions remain empty.

4 years ago

MISFIRE: Health care officials have to get Tricare transition right

Tricare is undergoing huge changes, so it's crucial that health care officials and contractors get this transition right.

4 years ago

MEDAL: Review of valor awards proved totally justified

The military-wide review of more than 1,300 valor decorations awarded since 9/11 continues to pay dividends by recognizing the nation’s heroes for their incredible courage on the battlefield.

4 years ago

MEDAL: In Taliban urination case, the military court was right

Pissing on dead Taliban was wrong. But the commandant's heavy-handed treatment of those Marines was worse.

5 years ago

MISFIRE: Abandoning DoD-run schools is a terrible idea

The Pentagon's proposal to turn over stateside military schools to local school districts amounts to a cut in benefits for military children.

5 years ago

MEDAL: Making good use of tech experts, in and out of uniform

If the military wants to recruit and retain tech experts, career paths might need to change.

5 years ago

MISFIRE: Trump should let John Kelly’s son rest in peace

Rarely do we hear a remark from a commander-in-chief that is as off-key and seemingly thoughtless as President Trumps comment on Tuesday morning about combat death of his chief of staff’s son.

5 years ago

MISFIRE: The military should help troops fend off Russian social media bots

DoD owes troops some basic guidance in battling trolls, bots online.

5 years ago

MEDAL: Demanding details on Afghanistan strategy

Republican Sen. John McCain says President Trump and the Pentagon should offer more details on the new "strategy" in Afghanistan.

5 years ago

MEDAL: Mattis vs Petraeus and the new Rules of Engagement

Defense Secretary Jim Mattis loosens the Rules of Engagement in Afghanistan. That's good news -- and a big change after years of counterinsurgency doctrine that tightened up those rules too much.

5 years ago

MEDAL: Giving sailors time to sleep

New sleep and watch schedule rules is good news for the Navy and its surface fleet sailors.

5 years ago

MISFIRE: Relying on TV cop shows to train Afghan police

Training local police overseas is ostensibly a vital mission, but the U.S. military still has no well-trained, deplorable police development force.

5 years ago

MISFIRE: More evidence that the VA just doesn’t get it

The VA was not really tracking whether employees who were working remotely from home were actually working.

5 years ago

MEDAL: Monken’s extension makes sense for Army football

Monken has proven he's the right personality to lead Army football.

5 years ago

MEDAL: DoD expertly navigates ‘climate change’ controversy

'Climate change' is a bad word, so DoD ain't using it.

5 years ago

MISFIRE: Harvard is wrong to honor Chelsea Manning

Just no, Harvard.

5 years ago

MEDAL: Female Marines are rocking pullups on the Corps’ new fitness test

What's next? Gender-neutral fitness standards?

5 years ago

MISFIRE: Really? America's two most elite warplanes can't share data?

The Air Force has known about this problem for years.

5 years ago