The attempts by the anti-war left to discredit General Petraeus which is being led by both Moveon.org and the Daily Kos has gotten even more desperate as they are now claiming that General Petraeus was frauduently awarded his combat action badge:
But a medal for valor in mortal combat is not a merit badge. It represents the physical spilling of blood - the risking and taking of life. It is an apology to those who have faced this terrible thing, and a mark of gratitude for their courage and determination and selflessness in the face of violence. But you have to have one to be cool like the other guys. So you get yourself a Combat Action Badge - even though they started being handed out in 2005 and you were "in" combat in 2003. [Daily Kos]
This comes on the heels of the pathetic claim by the Daily Kos that General Petraeus awarded himself a fraudulent bronze star which I quickly debunked. Now I will debunk the latest claims against his combat action badge.
Unlike the Daily Kos I know full well the eligibility requirements for the combat action badge and paragraph number six of the eligibility requirements easily debunks the Daily Kos’ claims:
(6) Retroactive awards for the CAB are not authorized prior to 18 September 2001, applications (to include supporting documentation) for retroactive awards of the CAB will be forwarded through the first two star general in the chain of command to CG, U.S. Army Human Resources Command, ATTN: AHRC-PDO-PA, Alexandria, VA 22332-0471.
Because General Petraeus served in combat in 2003 that makes him perfectly eligible to wear the combat action badge even though it was first established in 2005 because it is retroactive to 2001. It took me less than five minutes to write this and debunk these people; that should give you some idea of the level of military knowledge at work at the Daily Kos.
Why these people at the Daily Kos don’t bother verifying the eligibility requirements for the badge before making these ridiculous claims is beyond me but I have to assume that they just want to pass off propaganda to the people reading their site to be repeated over and over again on other leftist blogs until the conventional wisdom on the left is that Petraeus is wearing fraudulent awards.
Yes, I question their patriotism.
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1:05 am on October 28th, 2007 1
[...] Iraq Imminent- Army Strong with Tila Tequila- Setting Conditions for Victory in Iraq- Attacking General Petraeus’ Combat Action Badge- Measuring Enthusiasm- Engaging the [...]
2:52 am on November 21st, 2007 2
The problem comes from the specific criteria to be used when determining when to award the CAB:
c. Soldier must be personally present and actively engaging or being engaged by the enemy, and performing satisfactorily in accordance with the prescribed rules of engagement.
When was Petreaus personally present and actively engaging or being engaged by the enemy, and performing satisfactorily in accordance with the prescribed rules of engagement? Do we have generals in the field firing machine guns at insurgents? Did Petraeus personally engage the enemy?
10:11 am on November 24th, 2007 3
You get awarded the CAB by having a mortar land nearby. I know people awarded the CAB because they were on camp in Kuwait when a PATRIOT shot down a SCUD a shrapnel landed nearby. Other people received CABs for being on a FOB when mortars landed on it.
If you read my prior posting you will see that Petraeus was present during both mortar strikes and sniper fire making him perfectly eligible to wear the CAB.
http://forwarddeployed.com/2007/09/22/desperation-to-destroy-general-petraeus/
Once again you have people with no experience with the military trying to pass judgment on something they know nothing about. The CAB is very easily issued and the majority of soldiers who go to Iraq receive one, even generals.
5:01 am on July 4th, 2008 4
All sounds good on the General’s CAB, but like that of the CIB, are General Officers authorized these badges, if - in spite of them being retroactive, the action/timeframe they’re citing is during when they were/are a General Officer?
2:29 am on July 8th, 2008 5
I was in Tikrit and Ba’Qubah in 2003. During that time I was shot at by snipers, ambushed by RPG’s, attacked by an IED and I have pictures. I have submitted 3 requests for the CAB and all have been denied.
2:49 am on July 8th, 2008 6
You are sounding like John Kerry.
5:29 pm on August 13th, 2008 7
Jim Todd, if you had stars on your hat you’d have gotten that CAB. I am a recently retired Iraq veteran (1st Cav)–I know what I’m talking about.