CCNN

Military-Bureaucracy

By Larry Valdez

The Valor Medals Bureaucracy Crisis: Why Your Fallen Comrade's Heroism Requires Three Departments to Agree On Whether You're 'Worth' The Gold Star

PRIVATE FIRST CLASS JIMMY GORDON WAS KILLED IN ACTION ON A MOUNTAIN PASS IN THE HIMALAYAS ON WHAT THE ARMY’S CALENDAR CALLED “MAY 14TH, BUT MAY HAVE BEEN MAY 16TH DUE TO DELAYED GPS TIME SYNCHRONIZATION.”

PRIVATE FIRST CLASS JIMMY GORDON IS NOW THE PROPERTY OF THE DEAD SOLDIER REVIEW BOARD (DSRB), NOT THE MILITARY, NOT THE FAMILY, BUT A FOUR-LEVEL BUREAUCRACY THAT REQUIRES THREE DEPARTMENTS TO AGREE ON WHETHER HE WAS HEROIC ENOUGH TO RECEIVE THE GOLD STAR.

By Larry Valdez

Humanitarian Aid Coordinator Denied Visa Because His Name Appeared on a List of 'Unreliable Benefactors'

The first order at the Damascus aid checkpoint reads: “All relief convoys must present three forms of identification, one of which must include a handwritten signature in blue ink.”

Sergeant Chen, operations coordinator for the Coalition for Compassionate Distribution, stands before a gate made of chain-link and concrete. His badge reads “VERIFIED RELIEF WORKER” in silver lettering on a badge that costs $4,299.99, tax included. He has three badges. One is expired. One was lost to a bomb. One is currently on loan to a journalist who writes about the war.