# Almost 20% of top medals awarded secretly since 9/11



## Brill (Mar 1, 2016)

20% of awards classified?  Wow, never knew it was that high.

Almost 20% of top medals awarded secretly since 9/11


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## Gunz (Mar 1, 2016)

20% sounds about right to me given the nature of the warfare, and, one would assume, the level of risk involved.

I'd bet there have been more covert missions since 9/11 than at any other comparable time in our history.


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## TLDR20 (Mar 1, 2016)

Ocoka One said:


> 20% sounds about right to me given the nature of the warfare, and, one would assume, the level of risk involved.
> 
> I'd bet there have been more covert missions since 9/11 than at any other comparable time in our history.
> 
> (And probably more tell-all memoirs of said covert operations by participants who can't seem to wait for declassification. )



Yeah covert only because of who conducted them. Most of what they are earning medals for are raids, infantry units conduct those. Just saying.


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## Gunz (Mar 1, 2016)

TLDR20 said:


> Yeah covert only because of who conducted them. Most of what they are earning medals for are raids, infantry units conduct those. Just saying.



Got it. If an SOF unit conducts it it's classified even if it's the kind of operation infantry might get a press mention for...


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## Marauder06 (Mar 1, 2016)

All of my deployment awards except one are "classified" and I never even fired my weapon once.  Like TLDR20 said it's often simply a function of the unit more than the actions.


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## digrar (Mar 1, 2016)

SASR, 2 Commando Regiment and SOER are heavily represented in gallantry awards too, for the same reasons, however their awards are still announced during the Australia Day and Queen's Birthday announcements. They hide the names of the recipients (MG for Sgt H, SASR, or DSC for Maj K, 2 Cdo etc etc) but location and date are still mentioned.

Are these 20% being hidden entirely?


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## AWP (Mar 2, 2016)

20% are secret?
Time to hit up eBay for some uniforms and bling!!!


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## Devildoc (Mar 2, 2016)

Freefalling said:


> 20% are secret?
> Time to hit up eBay for some uniforms and bling!!!



Thinking the same thing.

Serious question: if the awards are for classified events/missions/operations/whatever, are the awards themselves secret so one cannot wear it, or can they wear it and if asked, say they cannot speak to it because it's a secret?

I read this and thought of all the MOHs and other high-level awards given decades after the fact for missions that have been declassified, e.g., Roy Benavidez's MOH for his actions with MACV-SOG.


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## Ooh-Rah (Mar 2, 2016)

Devildoc said:


> Serious question: if the awards are for classified events/missions/operations/whatever, are the awards themselves secret so one cannot wear it,<snip>



Good question - I've read about this in books (both fiction and non-fiction) and always wondered if true -


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## TLDR20 (Mar 2, 2016)

Ooh-Rah said:


> Good question - I've read about this in books (both fiction and non-fiction) and always wondered if true -



They wear them, if and when they wear their A's. See the pic of MSGT Wheeler. He is obviously blinged out, but you won't find the award write ups for most of those BSM-V's.


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## Frank S. (Mar 2, 2016)

Freefalling said:


> 20% are secret?
> Time to hit up eBay for some uniforms and bling!!!



I have a simple plan.

Products
and
Amazon.com: The Mountain Three Wolf Moon Short Sleeve Tee: Clothing


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## Gunz (Mar 2, 2016)

Frank S. said:


> I have a simple plan.
> 
> Products
> and
> Amazon.com: The Mountain Three Wolf Moon Short Sleeve Tee: Clothing



There was some discussion at DoD to substitute the administrative Bronze Star (the one without the "V") with Nickleback T-shirts. Not sure how that turned out.


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## Marauder06 (Mar 2, 2016)

Devildoc said:


> Thinking the same thing.
> 
> Serious question: if the awards are for classified events/missions/operations/whatever, are the awards themselves secret so one cannot wear it, or can they wear it and if asked, say they cannot speak to it because it's a secret?
> 
> I read this and thought of all the MOHs and other high-level awards given decades after the fact for missions that have been declassified, e.g., Roy Benavidez's MOH for his actions with MACV-SOG.



I haven't been in every organization out there, but in the units I was in the awards and evals had a classified component that was held in the classified channels, and  publicly releasable one.  So the awards certs are given, the verbiage on them is it just super vague.  And on the evals, there's the admin data and the "block check," everything else was classified.


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## Kraut783 (Mar 2, 2016)

an example of super vague.....JCOM for OEF 2002 simply says "For Meritorious Service for the Armed Forces of the United States" that's it, no locations (Astan) no operation name (OEF), nothing...  No real classified stuff...but it was all SOF.


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