Someone is missing the boat in, and our troops and future generations of warriors fighting for this country will be the losers.  Are we fighting in Afghanistan and Iraq without heroes?

Secretary of Defense Robert Gates has known about the "problem" for sometime.  I sent him a briefing package shortly before he left College Station, Texas for life in Washington, trying to persuade him that we needed to change the procedures for how our nation grants the Medal of Honor. Nothing happened.  Shortly after Obama became President, I supplied him, Gates, and others with still another briefing package. Again, nothing happened.

In 2006, testified before the House Armed Services about how the Pentagon had made it virtually impossible to be recognized with this high award.  Those on the Committee who heard my testimony were convinced, both Democrat and Republican alike.  The Army, Navy, Air Force and Marine flag officers present were paralyzed by the facts.  They gave the "we'll try harder" response before hurrying back to the Pentagon.

In the 146 years since the Medal was first awarded, we have had active duty service people honored by the Medal wearing our uniforms.  That, regrettably, will soon change as the last Medal holder in on active duty readies to retire.  That would lay the foundation for the first generation of American warriors without an MOH holder on active duty.        

It is Leadership 101 where Gates does not make the grade.  His apparent unwillingness to recognize the truest heroes from our battles in Iraq and Afghanistan is startling.  After 2,920 days of combat in the far corners of the globe our government has failed to find one living young man or woman worthy of the Medal of Honor.  I have been told that over 50 members of the Army, Marine Corps, and Navy have been recommended for the Medal but only six were awarded the Medal posthumously.

All of this makes Colonel Gordon Ray Roberts a very lonely person.  He received the Medal in 1969 for heroism above and beyond the call of duty while serving in the Army's 101st Airborne in Vietnam.  Today, at age 59, Col. Roberts is the youngest MOH recipient alive (the oldest is 99) and he is the only one who is on active duty. Col. Roberts is now winding down his career as a medical services officer at Washington's Walter Reed Army Hospital.

Gates is known as a leader and administrator and to him I will return.  Having a graduate degree in administration myself, I was taught to vigorously acknowledge the virtues that are critical to building a vibrant organization.  What about heroism?   Inspirational heroism?  Why can't Gates and the President, along with the rest of the Pentagon, send the message that they appreciate the sacrifices that are being made? 

As a young Marine in Vietnam, I remember getting goose bumps when one of our guys received the Silver Star.  While someone else received the award, we all received validation through the honor of the service that we were contributing. Today's warriors simply are not getting that kind of affirmation.  They know that 246 men received the MOH for service in Vietnam, and that more than a third of those were living at the time of the award. 

I could offer a dozen theories why Gates is falling down on the job.  The most obvious is that those who do the selection don't understand combat. Unless you have been in mud with a warrior, it is difficult to understand the challenge at hand. The second possibility is the tug of war for publicity between the armed services.  With their budgets threatened, the high-tech services are unwilling to call attention to low-tech rifle slingers?

In the near future, Roberts will leave the Army that he has served so well.  I hope that we have a few men, and maybe even a woman, that will step into those empty shoes.  We would be all the better for it.