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Barrett · 31 January 2002, 11:24 AM

Terry:
Sorry for the delay; have been a hard down of late and dunno when I'll get my own computer back.
Unlike the MoH, the administrators of the VC began considering "performance of duty" fairly early in the process. My statement was directed at the aviation era (i.e., 20th century) but Crook makes it plain that the Brits started examining the criteria in the Boer War and then got more serious in The Big One. The MoH, frankly, is a highly political award with a great deal of interservice bickering. Watch for my upcoming Smithsonian Press book "Above & Beyond" this fall (shameless hype.)
Many MoHs have been awarded just for doing a good/great job. The standards can be set so high as to render the award semi-impossible or they can be so lax or inconsistent as to denigrate the true valor of some/most recipients. Anyway, it appears that none of the US armed forces have ever addressed "performance of duty", so the VC nominations have been more heavily scrutinized since the aviation era.
Back again when I can.

31 January 2002, 11:24 AM	#27 (permalink)
Barrett Forum Ace of Aces Join Date: Aug 1998 Location: The American West Posts: 4,809	Terry: Sorry for the delay; have been a hard down of late and dunno when I'll get my own computer back. Unlike the MoH, the administrators of the VC began considering "performance of duty" fairly early in the process. My statement was directed at the aviation era (i.e., 20th century) but Crook makes it plain that the Brits started examining the criteria in the Boer War and then got more serious in The Big One. The MoH, frankly, is a highly political award with a great deal of interservice bickering. Watch for my upcoming Smithsonian Press book "Above & Beyond" this fall (shameless hype.) Many MoHs have been awarded just for doing a good/great job. The standards can be set so high as to render the award semi-impossible or they can be so lax or inconsistent as to denigrate the true valor of some/most recipients. Anyway, it appears that none of the US armed forces have ever addressed "performance of duty", so the VC nominations have been more heavily scrutinized since the aviation era. Back again when I can. __________________ You will not rise to the occasion: You will default to your level of training.