One thing that military men and women will not stand for is another Soldier, Marine, Sailor or Airman claiming medals or ribbons they did not earn. The Navy showed just how much they abhor this practice:
A Navy hospital corpsman who claims he rescued six Marines and recovered the bodies of four others during an ambush in the early days of Operation Iraqi Freedom was convicted Wednesday of wearing ribbons he did not earn.He faces five years and a bad-conduct discharge although I suspect the jail time will be reduced.
A judge dismissed the more serious charges of forging documents that led to the awards.
Petty Officer 2nd Class Dontae L. Tazewell was found guilty of 10 of 11 counts of wearing unauthorized ribbons. Some of the honors recognized Tazewell for hero-ism during an ambush on March 28, 2003, earning him the Purple Heart and Bronze Star in July 2006.
I recall when I was in, a 2nd Class Boatswain's Mate was transeferred to a different ship on the same pier as us. He claimed that he had earned his Enlisted Surface Warfare Specialist designation when in fact he hadn't. It would have given him a significant edge when it came to promotion, in other words, he was cheating and we can't abide that.
I commend the Navy for taking quick and decisive action against this guy and hope they prosecute all such cases with the same intensity.
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