Hold fire, earn a medal

From Navy Times.com (May 12):

U.S. troops in Afghanistan could soon be awarded a medal for not doing something, a precedent-setting award that would be given for “courageous restraint” for holding fire to save civilian lives.

A spokesman for the 2.2 million-member Veterans of Foreign Wars, the nation's largest group of combat veterans, thinks the award would cause confusion among the ranks and send a bad signal.

“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,” said Joe Davis, a spokesman for the Veterans of Foreign Wars. “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.” [read more]

I can understand a police department having this policy, but the military? This is war the US is fighting and should be treated as such. The military really doesn't not want kill or would civilians that's for sure. But if a person is firing at you're not supposed to fire back? I just hope that rule of engagement does not get more of our fighting men killed. The enemy we are fighting (crazy Muslims--yea I said it) are not like the enemies of the past. They don't care about rules of engagement.