The Commander-In-Chief and His Dispensable Heroes
On June 21, 2006, Army SFC Jared Monti was the assistant patrol leader for a 16-man patrol tasked with surveillance of the Gowardesh region of Nuristan Province in Afghanistan. As it began to get dark, the patrol was attacked by an enemy force of at least 60 well-organized enemy combatants who established two strategic positions above the patrol in a densely wooded ridgeline, which enabled them to shoot down at the vastly outnumbered patrol. SFC Monti dirercted the patrol to take cover and return fire as he himself returned fire and radioed in a request for indirect fire and close air support. When SFC Monti spotted a wounded soldier, PFC Brian Bradbury, lying exposed to enemy fire 10 meters from cover, he advanced through enemy fire and got within 3 ft of PFC Bradbury before being forced back by intense enemy fire. He made a second thwarted attempt to run out to PFC Bradbury, and then on his third attempt to reach the wounded soldier SFC Monti was hit and mortally wounded by a rocket-propelled grenade. At about the time SFC Monti fell, the indirect fire and close air support reinforcements that he had called for earlier began to attack the enemy position, killing over a third of the enemy combatants and forcing the remainder to scatter. SFC Monti's actions saved the lives of the soldiers in his patrol, and enabled them to overcome an enemy attack despite overwhelming odds.
SFC Jared Monti was awarded the Medal of Honor for his valiant service, posthumously. In a ceremony in September of 2009, President Obama gave a speech about the fallen hero's service before presenting SFC Monti's parents, Paul and Janet Monti, with their son's award. And then the president promptly forgot about Jared Monti.
Addressing the 10th Mountain Division Thursday at Fort Drum, Obama said:
First time I saw 10th Mountain Division, you guys were in southern Iraq. When I went back to visit Afghanistan, you guys were the first ones there. I had the great honor of seeing some of you because a comrade of yours, Jared Monti, was the first person who I was able to award the Medal of Honor to who actually came back and wasn’t receiving it posthumously.
A reader over at Blackfive remarks:
How does the Commander-in-Chief mix these heroes up? He put that medal around Giunta's neck and he stood with Monti's parents as they grieved. These fallen heroes leave such a great legacy, and we should know all their names. The ironic part of the speech, and this comes after the announcement of the politically pressured drawdown of troops in Afghanistan, was Obama's closing remark, "Know that your Commander-in-Chief has your back."
(h/t Instapundit; photo by Chuck Kennedy)
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Comments :
Sep '10
Re: The Commander-In-Chief and His Dispensable Heroes
The US Commander in Chief is behind his troops. Very far behind. So far behind that it would take an interplanetary NASA probe specifically programmed for Muslim outreach initiatives to find him.
Sep '10
Re: The Commander-In-Chief and His Dispensable Heroes
Apparently his mind, in addition to his memory, needs a teleprompter. Can his heart be far behind?
Jul '10
Re: The Commander-In-Chief and His Dispensable Heroes
Honestly, this was a huge goof up on his part. Indefensible. But it was, as far as I can see, just a slip up. I can ignore a mixup when talking about our fallen heroes because I'd rather spend the time pointing out to others how he's knowingly plunging our economy and our stature in the world into an abyss.
Sep '10
Re: The Commander-In-Chief and His Dispensable Heroes
Perhaps he needs a trip to Whoville to get that much needed boost in heart valve size.
Jun '10
Re: The Commander-In-Chief and His Dispensable Heroes
One would think he has sufficient staff to avoid this kind of unforgivable gaffe. I get the impression they're way too busy creating justifications for their boss's social engineering to get little facts (like whether a Medal of Honor winner is dead or alive) right. Shamefully bad.
Jun '10
Re: The Commander-In-Chief and His Dispensable Heroes
I think this one is far worse than a "goof up." A goof up is when he mispronounces the name of the third runner-up in the National spelling bee. Getting a Medal of Honor wrong is a big deal.
Having gotten that off my chest, I completely agree about his harm to the economy.
But can't he get something right? This one was an unforced error of the worst kind.
Feb '11
Re: The Commander-In-Chief and His Dispensable Heroes
It doesn't matter to him; it won't cost him anything. The only folks who care were not voting for him anyway.
Dec '10
Re: The Commander-In-Chief and His Dispensable Heroes
I have to pray for forgiveness for the wrath I feel at times like this. Not wrath at Obama, interestingly, but at our clueless fellow citizens who voted for this guy. I saw the betrayal of our troops coming the moment I figured out Obama was a leftist. Why didn't they?!
Edited on Jun 24, 2011 at 8:15amJan '11
Re: The Commander-In-Chief and His Dispensable Heroes
You can watch the Sal Giunta story here, on the Restrepo movie website.
http://restrepothemovie.com/video/
It's an odd mistake to make - one would think that Obama would also know that Tim Hetherington was killed covering the Libyan KMA. These sorts of events should stick in a CinC's mind.
Feb '11
Re: The Commander-In-Chief and His Dispensable Heroes
Anyone notice how often he used the pronoun "I" is used in the first paragraph? This man will remain, forever, a narcissistic fool and abuses our rites of civic militarism.
Jul '10
Re: The Commander-In-Chief and His Dispensable Heroes
I hate looking at the guy or listening to him in any context, but it's when he's playing his Commander in Chief charade that I get most apoplectic.
To think that such a profoundly un-American, frivolous man-child commands the finest among us is sickening.
Dec '10
Re: The Commander-In-Chief and His Dispensable Heroes
Antiphon, you must certainly realize that Obama regards the Medal of Honor as something that honors him for his power to hand it out (he doesn't even award it, Congress does), not as something that honors the recipient for his valor and bravery in earning it. It's just another of the neat-o toys he gets to play with as President.
Jun '10
Re: The Commander-In-Chief and His Dispensable Heroes
To Obama, those awarded the Medal of Honor are just props and photo ops. No different than the teen who wins a community service award for collecting the most turkeys in a Thanksgiving food drive and is invited to pose with the president.
Feb '11
Re: The Commander-In-Chief and His Dispensable Heroes
More like the Thanksgiving turkeys he pardons. I'd bet he remembers their names.
May '10
Re: The Commander-In-Chief and His Dispensable Heroes
Sociopath-in-Chief.
May '10
Re: The Commander-In-Chief and His Dispensable Heroes
Yes. This disgrace was more than just the president's unforgivable error - it was an institutional failure. Presumably, the president read from prepared remarks. I'm sure Peter Robinson and Troy Senik can go on for hours about the granular level of review applied to any set of presidential remarks in their administrations. The fact that this speech went through multiple levels of review (or didn't) and that the president himself didn't recall the names or details of the soldiers to whom he awarded the nation's highest honor is mind-boggling. The entire White House operation bears the blame for this embarrassment and, worse, it's not the first time this has happened (ask Billie Jean King). It's a simple matter of either not being very good at your job or not taking the time to do it well.
Sep '10
Re: The Commander-In-Chief and His Dispensable Heroes
Its times like this that I dream of seeing Col West in a debate with Obama. Talk about a one punch knockout.
Feb '11
Re: The Commander-In-Chief and His Dispensable Heroes
This again reminds me when Obama had the occasion to speak to, I believe, a graduating class around, I believe, Memorial Day. Instead of praising the Armed Forces and, as you would expect, addressing those in the class going to serve, he went out of his way praise students who chose to enroll in the Peace Corps., Americorps and other ways to "serve their community", his distaste for the Uniform was palatable.
Sep '10
Re: The Commander-In-Chief and His Dispensable Heroes
Even worse than his insistent use of the first person is his insistence on speaking familiarly rather than formally, trying to give the impression that he's got our backs.
"First time I saw 10th Mountain Division, you guys were in southern Iraq. When I went back to visit Afghanistan, you guys were the first ones there."
At the beginning of his term, the issue was that whatever he said ended up being the opposite of what he did. This slip-up makes me think too that if you hear him speak casually, you can expect him to be emotionally removed from what he's saying.
May '10
Re: The Commander-In-Chief and His Dispensable Heroes
This is a huge gaffe, though I'm sure the media won't spin it as such. This makes the "corpse-man" goof pale in comparison. The Medal of Honor is the highest military medal given by the US government. When a recipient is wearing the Medal of Honor, all members of the uniformed services salute him, regardless of rank. That means Gen. Petraeus would salute recipients. I know lefties probably won't think this is a big deal. After all, Forrest Gump was given the Medal of Honor. The next time I'm in D.C., I really look forward to seeing the presidential motorcade, so that I can turn my back to it.
Edited on Jun 24, 2011 at 10:27am