The Distinguished Warfare Medal

The New First Combat Award Since 1944

Only it isn't, or is it? Announced by former Sec Def Panetta it is ranked just below the Distinguished Flying Cross and above the Purple Heart and Bronze Star the precedence for the medal has a lot of people fuming, people who were shot or shot at.

Are Drone Pilots and Cyberwarriors in Combat?

I think anyone who has ever been shot at would say no.  Artillery is subject to counter-battery fire,  even nuclear missileers  would likely have been subject to return fire had they ever turned their keys.  Someone sitting in a room in Nevada flying a drone over Afghanistan is subjecting themselves to little risk of personal harm beyond carpal tunnel syndrome.

Suspended  

The new Sec Def, Chuck Hagel, amid a firestorm of protest from veterans groups and lawmakers has suspended the medal and halted production pending a reexamination of its precedence.

It may be Warfare,  but is it Combat?