Although we have not seen the sheer scale and intensity of combat in Afghanistan since Korea, we have had people in many nasty and brutal situations over the years. I agree that there should be some special recognition for those whose job is done outside the wire; patrolling, in OPs, on gun lines, in FOO parties, doing mobility and counter-mobility, delivering commodities, recovering vehicles or closing with and destroying the enemy, returning to camp to rest, replen and re-bomb before going out again. However I do not think that someone who spends 6 months writing Emails in Kandahar (as opposed to writing Emails in Valcartier, Ottawa, Gagetown, Edmonton, wherever), sleeps in nice Hesco Bastion every night and gets their 3 squares and midnight snack at the mess after 2 beers and some foosball deserves anything more than the tour medal they receive, even if their camp is rocketed or they go outside once in a while on a milk run as an "air sentry" or to deliver school desks to a CIMIC project.
