Tanner (Finally) responds, though not to me: he has no "combat medals."

Joe Tanner finally responded over his claim to "numerous combat medals," and the result is, as I suspected, that he has precisely none.

And while he starts off by writing "I look forward to sharing my military service," he apparently doesn't look forward to sharing it with me; his response was to Lew Waters.

To someone Harvard-trained like Mr. Tanner, words have meaning.  The definition of combat is very different from the definition of non-combat.  Generally, to have received a "combat medal," one has had to engage IN combat; that is, taken direct or indirect fire; or, at a minimum, DELIVERED direct or indirect fire.

Tanner has, apparently, done none of that.

So, why did he, to be charitable, exaggerate about that through a claim of having received "numerous combat medals?"

And if he'll exaggerate about that, then what else will he exaggerate about?  Like, for example, the reasons he's running?  Or that he's anything approaching a conservative?

To his credit, and that of every other Vietnam vet (And please don't misunderstand me: I was not disputing his claim of service in the area of Vietnam or that he spent 27 months in the vicinity... apparently, all of it on ship) he does have the Vietnam Service Medal (with 6 stars) and the Vietnam Campaign Medal.

In addition, he claims the Armed Forces Expeditionary Medal and the National Defense Service medal.

He was serving on a guided missile cruiser, the Providence, that served as a fleet flagship. 

In fact, the awards mentioned all come under Navy regulations as "service awards" and NOT "combat awards."

The Navy has awards for particpation in combat.  The Combat Action Ribbon is one:  Had Tanner been in combat operations he likely would have been awarded said ribbon:

(14). Combat Action Ribbon

a. Authorization. SECNAVNOTE 1650 of 17 February 1969.

b. Eligibility Requirements

(1) Awarded to members of the Navy, Marine Corps, Coast Guard (when the Coast Guard, or units thereof, operate under the control of the Navy) in the grade of captain/colonel and junior thereto, who have actively participated in ground or surface combat.

(2) The principal eligibility criterion is, regardless of military occupational specialty or rating, the individual must have rendered satisfactory performance under enemy fire while actively participating in a ground or surface engagement. Neither service in a combat area nor being awarded the Purple Heart Medal automatically makes a service member eligible for the Combat Action Ribbon (CR). The following amplifying guidance is provided: SECNAVINST 1650.1H

(a) Direct exposure to thedetonation of an Improvised Explosive Device (IED) used by an enemy, with or without the immediate presence of enemy forces, constitutes active participation in a ground or surface engagement.

Eligibility under this criterion is retroactive to 7 October 01.

(b) Personnel who serve in clandestine or special operations, who by the nature of their mission, are restricted in their ability to return fire, and who are operating in conditions where the risk of enemy fire was great and expected to be encountered, may be eligible for the CR.

(c) The CR will not be awarded to personnel for aerial combat, since the Strike/~light Air Medal provides recognition for aerial combat exposure; however, a pilot or crewmember forced to escape or evade, after being forced down, may be eligible for the award.

(d) Current DON personnel who were formerly in the U.S. Army and earned the Combat Infantryman Badge or Combat Medical Badge, upon submission of official military documentation to their commanding officer, may be authorized to wear the CR.

(e) Under Public Law 106-65, the CR may be awarded retroactively to 7 December 1941. See Chapter 8 for information regarding retroactive eligibility determinations.

c. Eligible Operations. SECNAV, or his designee, determines which operations meet the criteria for this award. Appendix E to this chapter lists the operations for which award of the CR has been authorized. A n individual, whose eligibility has been established in combat in any of the operations listed in Appendix E, may be awarded the CR. Only one award per operation is authorized. The listing is not all inclusive, as the CR has been awarded in minor operations, as - well as for specific actions. Chapter 8 contains information regarding requests for eligibility determinations for personnel no longer on active duty.

To the non-veteran, this entire issue may seem ticky-tac.  To the politically initiated, what this seems to me to be is an effort by Tanner to mitigate Mielke's status as a genuine, close-combat veteran of the Vietnam War; or an effort to equate his relatively luxurious service on a fleet flagship with that of a ground-pounding grunt.

Regardless: that Mr. Tanner ignored me as a prospective constituent and that he appears to be, at minimum, playing in quite unnecessary word games does him no service.

Words matter.  And Mr. Tanner did NOT, contrary to his claims, receive a single award for combat of any kind... period.