Medal for drone pilots to outrank ones given to soldiers in combat

When the Pentagon announced a medal for drone pilots of unmanned aircraft, it raised a few eyebrows, but the fact that it will outrank the Bronze Star with Valor device blasted those brows right off everyone's heads. The Distinguished Warfare Medal will be given to "pilots of unmanned aircraft, offensive [cyberwar] experts or others directly involved in combat operations but who are not physically in theater." And there lies the controversy: that the new medal will fall between the Distinguished Flying Cross and the Bronze Star (both awarded for heroism in battle) in terms of precedence. "So are we going to start giving [drone pilots] Purple Hearts when they get carpal tunnel?" one active Marine commented. [Source]

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