Lawmaker: Award Marines for Libya ops - Marine Corps News | News from Afghanistan & Iraq - Marine Corps Times

Lawmaker: Award Marines for Libya ops

Eight months after Marine Corps aviators first flew missions in Libya — including the rescue of a downed Air Force pilot — a California representative wants to know why no Marine has been honored with awards for their combat actions.

Rep. Duncan Hunter, R-Calif., directed his question to Navy Secretary Ray Mabus, who has the primary awarding authority for awards such as the Distinguished Flying Cross and Air Medal.

“It has come to my attention that no awards or recognition have been approved for Marine aviators who flew combat missions over Libya,” Hunter wrote in a recent letter to Mabus.

The missions included a tactical recovery of aircraft and personnel operation to rescue the pilot of an F-15E Strike Eagle jet that crashed March 21 in a rebel-held area of northeast Libya.

That call went to the 26th Marine Expeditionary Unit, which sent its TRAP force — which included two MV-22 Ospreys, two CH-53E Super Stallion helicopters and two AV-8B Harrier jets, along with a KC-130J tanker — from the amphibious assault ship Kearsarge for the nighttime mission to recover the pilot and co-pilot who safely ejected from the jet. While the co-pilot got shelter from rebels, the pilot evaded capture and hid until the TRAP platoon assigned to the MEU grabbed him and put him into an Osprey.

Awards could be forthcoming. The Navy’s assistant secretary for manpower and reserve affairs has been considering a request submitted by U.S. Naval Forces Africa to designate the Libya area as authorized for combat awards.

“A decision is expected in the near future,” said Lt. Matt Allen, a Navy spokesman at the Pentagon.

In his letter, Hunter, a Marine veteran of Iraq and Afghanistan, highlighted the dangers the rescue force faced.

“Pilots of the Harrier jet provided close-air support by dropping two 500-pound bombs in the area between the downed pilot and a sizable force that was quickly closing in on the F-15 pilot,” Hunter wrote. “There is no doubt that the actions by these Marines during this mission, and throughout the entire U.S.-led operations in Libya, deserve some type of recognition.”

“I am concerned that in the effort to downplay the combat role involved in the U.S. operations in Libya, political sensitivity has trumped American courage and bravery,” Hunter said.

Although Libya wasn’t a designated combat zone, the Defense Department approved Libya and neighboring Tunisia for imminent danger pay. But service members don’t have to be in a designated combat zone to rate a combat medal, said Doug Sterner, a military historian.