Navy SEAL posthumously awarded Silver Star. CC Member related to story.

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<p><a href="http://www.navytimes.com/story.php?f=1-292925-2014127.php%5B/url%5D"&gt;http://www.navytimes.com/story.php?f=1-292925-2014127.php&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p>

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NAVY TIMES (August 10, 2006)</p>

<p>Final act of heroism earns SEAL a posthumous Silver Star</p>

<p>By Gidget Fuentes
Staff writer</p>

<p>SAN DIEGO, Calif. - In his final act as a Navy SEAL, Aviation Ordnanceman 2nd Class (SEAL) Marc A. Lee rained down machine gun fire to help protect several of his teammates before he was felled by enemy fire in Iraq last week.</p>

<p>On Tuesday, Navy Secretary Donald C. Winter honored that heroism with approval of the Silver Star, Cmdr. Greg Geisen, a spokesman for the Naval Special Warfare Command in Coronado, Calif., said Wednesday afternoon.
The Aug. 2 death of Lee, 28, was the first suffered in Iraq by the Navy's elite commando force.</p>

<p>Lee and other teammates were supporting an Iraqi Army unit during military operations with Army forces in Ramadi, the provincial capital of Anbar province in western Iraq that has seen regular attacks by insurgents.
According to the award citation, provided to Navy Times by Geisen, Lee was conducting clearance operations in south-central Ramadi with members of a Naval Special Warfare Combat Advisory element.</p>

<p>"During the operation, one element member was wounded by enemy fire. The element completed the casualty evacuation, regrouped and returned onto the battlefield to continue the fight," the citation reads. "Petty Officer Lee and his SEAL element maneuvered to assault an unidentified enemy position. He, his teammates, Bradley Fighting Vehicles and Abrams tanks engaged enemy positions with suppressive fire from an adjacent building to the north.</p>

<p>"To protect the lives of his teammates, he fearlessly exposed himself to direct enemy fire by engaging the enemy with his machine gun and was mortally wounded in the engagement. His brave actions in the line of fire saved the lives of many of his teammates," it states.</p>

<p>According to Stars and Stripes newspaper, which had a reporter embedded with Army units in the city during the operation, an insurgent sniper shot and wounded a Navy SEAL in the face at the start of a battle that lasted at least an hour over a five-block area. A second SEAL was wounded in the battle.</p>

<p>Lee completed the Basic Underwater Demolition/SEAL course in 2004 and joined the Coronado, Calif.-based SEAL Team 5 a year ago. He deployed to Iraq with his team earlier this year.</p>

<p>A native of Hood River, Ore., he enlisted in 2001 and completed naval air technical training in Pensacola, Fla. After an initial attempt to complete the grueling BUD/S program in Coronado and a temporary reassignment to the aircraft carrier Dwight D. Eisenhower, Lee rejoined the program and completed the course to become a SEAL.</p>

<p>Lee also has been posthumously awarded a Bronze Star with combat "V" for his actions in Iraq during his team's combat tour and the Purple Heart medal, Geisen said. His awards and decorations include the Combat Action Ribbon, Meritorious Unit Commendation and the National Defense Service Medal.

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<p>RIP, Frogman. HOO-YAH!</p>

<p>The two wounded SEALs mentioned by Stars and Stripes were treated by CC member NavyDoc's medical team, and will be fine. Just heard it straight from him. Way to go, Classmate! :D</p>

<p>As a side note, now you see why people really care about what someone wears in their "chest candy", and why posers are so reviled. How would you feel about someone you saw wearing a Silver Star they HADN'T earned, after this brave man paid for his with his life while covering his Teammates?</p>

<p>.</p>

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<p>Isn't it illegal to wear military medals you haven't been awarded? Are there a lot of instances where soldiers or sailers pin on bogus medals they weren't awarded? I wasn't aware that was a problem in the services.
Wow. That would be a big deal if a soldier was caught wearing bogus medals. Zaph, what happens if a sailor gets caught wearing a purple heart, silver star etc and their superiors find out about it?</p>

<p>The sacrifices of our service members are certainly degraded by anyone that would don a uniform and display medals they hadn't been earned in the service of their country.</p>

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Isn't it illegal to wear military medals you haven't been awarded?

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Basically, yes. The extent of the legality is something I'm not certain of, but I do know that it is ILLEGAL (as in "Act of Congress") to wear a Medal of Honor you have not earned. In fact, I THINK it is ILLEGAL to possess a real one unless it was earned or passed down from someone who earned one. </p>

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Are there a lot of instances where soldiers or sailers pin on bogus medals they weren't awarded? I wasn't aware that was a problem in the services.

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Sadly, yes, but normally only among the newest members who think it's cool. In the case of the little pins at USNA, they denote such silly things as Color Company, service selection, Varsity N, etc. Nothing serious, but the principle stands.</p>

<p>There was the case I mentioned above of the Mid caught with the Navy Cross (he was on restriction forever), and there are other occaisional cases.</p>

<p>For example a favorite of mine is the young recruit who went home to Nowhere USA after boot camp or some such thing, and claimed to be the youngest-ever Special Forces Sniper. NONE of it was true, and when the picture and story in the hometown paper got back to the Army, they were NOT amused. He ended up getting NJP at the hands of his senior NCO's, as well as having to serve his extra duty among the members of the team whose insignia and fame he had co-opted. Probably would have been better to just be court-martialed and shot. If I find the link I'll post it.</p>

<p>I wouldn't say it's COMMON, but it does happen. Most of the time, however, it's civilians claiming to be former SEALs or Special Forces. </p>

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Wow. That would be a big deal if a soldier was caught wearing bogus medals.

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You're not whistling Dixie. </p>

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Zaph, what happens if a sailor gets caught wearing a purple heart, silver star etc and their superiors find out about it?

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Well, I'm no JAG, but I suspect a lot will depend upon the command he is in and the medal(s) being falsely worn. I would suspect that if caught wearing, say, a Good Conduct Ribbon, the guy would get NJP (restriction, reduced a paygrade, etc.) but that's it. Caught wearing something serious like a combat medal or something, and it will all depend upon the CO of the command in question.</p>

<p>Frankly, I LOATHE posers with a blazing passion. Be proud of what you earned, but don't wear anything you haven't. If you want it, EARN it, then wear it with PRIDE.</p>

<p>ETA:</p>

<p>Here is a picture of the fine young fellow I mentioned above, straight from the hometown newspaper: <a href="http://media.mnginteractive.com/media/paper164/20041206_FPG_MIKE_CHABOT.JPG%5B/url%5D"&gt;http://media.mnginteractive.com/media/paper164/20041206_FPG_MIKE_CHABOT.JPG&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p>

<p>Note the SF flash and rocker, but no jump wings. Also, they don't let PFC's in SF. We'll also ignore the fact that SF doesn't use Browning A-Bolts in stainless (damned fine rifle, though). :rolleyes:</p>

<p>I also found this little tidbit:</p>

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Article 15's also include a flag that prohibits against "favorable action" - ie, getting a school slot, a promotion, etc - until his unit decides to smile upon him or he gets transferred. so... not only can he not go anywhere, he looses $200 a month (down to about $900/month with colorado taxes), and a total of $900 between the first two months. And, even after the flag is lifted, he cannot simply get promoted back to E-3. They can promote him once a month afterwards, if they so choose.

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<p>High price to pay for playing bada$$ to impress the folks at home.</p>

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<p>Here's the whole story, as well as some comment from folks who know the real deal, and the result: <a href="http://socnetcentral.com/vb/showthread.php?t=44698%5B/url%5D"&gt;http://socnetcentral.com/vb/showthread.php?t=44698&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p>

<p>Be advised: The folks over there use some colorful language. :)</p>

<p>In short, he got NJP (maxed out) under Article 15, UCMJ, and was required to write a formal apology to 10th SFG.</p>

<p>Punishment under a field grade Art 15 maxes out at 45 days restriction (usually to barracks, work, mess hall, and place of worship), 45 days extra duty (usually 1700-2400 on duty days, 0800-2400 on non-duty days), reduction to the grade E-1, and forfiture of 1/2 month's pay for 2 months (for an E-3 with under 2 years service, that = $703), and a verbal or written reprimand.</p>

<p>IIRC, he was required to serve his extra duty WITH the 10th SFG. Who ever said CO's don't have a sense of humor? :D</p>

<p>Note: Above text borrowed from linked site.</p>

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<p>Undoubtably the most tragic case involving questionable medals is that of Chief of Naval Operations Admiral Boorda who in 1986 shot himself an hour before an interview with a Newsweek reporter about his Vietnam combat medals. The issue in question was whether he was entitled to wear the "V" for valor device on his Navy Commendation and Navy Achievement Medals. While there is still debate about whether he qualified for the "V", he had stopped wearing the valor devices about a year before his death. </p>

<p>I'll remember Adm. Boorda not because he dropped out of high school and lied about his age to join the Navy at 17, or because he was the first person in the Navy to rise from seaman recruit to CNO, I'll always remember him fondly because when I wrote him a letter about the challenges of retaining outstanding naval personnel during the drawdown period following the end of the Cold War he sent me a handwritten response.</p>

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<p>ADM Boorda was the man. He quite literally took one for the team. The man was a god in the eyes of almost all of us in uniform at the time, and we were both shocked and saddened at his tragic death.</p>

<p>Personally, I refuse to believe he actually wore something he knew he didn't earn. Mistakes can happen, and he did earn them during Vietnam, so I give him the benefit of the doubt. I think he didn't want to expose the Navy to the media. I'll leave further comments on that matter for another thread.</p>

<p>RIP, Admiral. You were one of the few really good ones. :(</p>