Defense Department broke with tradition in creating drone medal

Defense Department broke with tradition in creating drone medal
By Leo Shane III
Stars and Stripes
Published: March 13, 2013

WASHINGTON — Critics of the new Distinguished Warfare Medal have a new objection to the honor: Military officials broke more than 100 years of tradition by creating it without getting support from lawmakers first.

Doug Sterner, a military honors expert and archivist for the Hall of Valor awards database, said the Defense Department went against protocol by not consulting with Congress before establishing a new award.

Fourteen of the top 16 military medals by order of precedence — including the Medal of Honor, Silver Star and Bronze Star — all received Congressional approval prior to being established. The other two medals, the Defense Distinguished Service Medal and Defense Superior Service Medal, were created through a presidential executive order.

The new Distinguished Service Medal followed neither of those paths.
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