Hi tech means fewer Medals of Honor?

NCT:

Is high-tech warfare making combat safer and leading to fewer Medal of Honor winners from the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan?

That's the suggestion of a Defense Department official in a letter to Rep. Duncan D. Hunter, R-El Cajon, who says there are more deserving troops from America's current conflicts than the five who have won the honor.

Gail McGinn, undersecretary of defense for personnel and readiness, wrote Hunter a letter earlier this month suggesting electronic warfare may be one reason why only a handful of U.S. troops have been awarded the nation's highest military award for valor in Iraq and Afghanistan.

"Technological advancements have dramatically changed battlefield tactics, techniques and procedures," McGinn wrote in the letter released by Hunter's office. "Precision-guided, stand-off weapons allow our forces to destroy known enemy positions with reduced personnel risk."

Hunter said Tuesday he was dissatisfied with that reasoning. He wants a congressionally mandated review of how the Medal of Honor award has been bestowed in recent years.

"It's true that some aspects of warfare have changed," he said. "But what hasn't changed is the close-quarter combat that is required to take ground from the enemy. That is what our Marines and soldiers do. Those actions are no different today than they were at any other time before."

McGinn also wrote that insurgents often rely on roadside bombs and rocket or mortar attacks and avoid direct engagement with U.S. forces.

"These factors could reasonably explain the smaller number of Medal of Honor nominations," she wrote.

Hunter, who served two tours in Iraq and one in Afghanistan as a Marine Corps officer, cited house-to-house combat in Iraq and foot patrols in isolated areas of Afghanistan as examples of close-quarters fighting using traditional weaponry.

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While tech may explain some aspects, I have seen some evidence that many commanders are reluctant to put their troops in for medals period. There has been a medal deflation that can be seen in the cases where medals were actually given that in other wars would have rated higher distinction. It is the commanders in the field who have to start the process. I have not seen a good explanation for their reluctance.