So I'm curious on this:

If I am in Special Forces or SOCOM and I am awarded a Silver Star under circumstances that are classified......is the award itself a matter of public record?

If the answer is no.... Can the awardee wear it in public or on their uniform? Can the awardee display the award certificate?

Awards are always a matter of public record. The citation need not contain any classified information even if the mission itself has a classification.

The assumption is that if something is so superblackopsforgetabou****ecret then no awards will be issued. You can't award someone for something that "did not happen." How often those types of missions actually take place is doubtful though.

I agree with runfuret;

A very broad, unspecific narrative would appear on the recommendation and certificate. The approval authority, like the SOCOM commander, would know what it is about. The justification might as well say "because he's a nice guy" - so long as the proper approval authority says yes and signs it, it's done.
How often would it happen? My guess is very seldom if at all. The kinds of people that do missions like that don't always get medals, nor do they expect to.

Take the Seal in A'stan that received the MoH. The action itself was described. How and why he got there to begin with- and the action itself for that matter - may or may not be accurate as published, nor does it matter. The power that be decided he was deserving of recognition and made it happen, without resorting to 'award of the Medal of Honor: date and place of action CLASSIFIED'

B.G. Burkett has a good explanation on this in his book Stolen Valor. During his search for phonies, he came across numerous people who claimed they had valor awards but couldnt provide documentation because they were awarded on "black op" missions. After doing some research, he discovered there is no such thing as a "secret" award. If someone performs some feat of derring do on a classified mission and the command wants to award him, they do one of a couple things:

1. Declassify the mission.
2. Use generic terminology.
3. Fudge a little with sensitive facts.
4. A combination of 1-3.

Here is a good example from the Vietnam War. Fred Zabitosky's Medal of Honor award citation:

ZABITOSKY, FRED WILLIAM

Rank and organization: Sergeant First Class (then S/Sgt.), U.S. Army, 5th Special Forces Group (Airborne). Place and date: Republic of Vietnam, 19 February 1968. Entered service at: Trenton, N.J. Born: 27 October 1942, Trenton, N.J. Citation: For conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity in action at the risk of his life above and beyond the call of duty. Sfc. Zabitosky, U.S. Army, distinguished himself while serving as an assistant team leader of a 9-man Special Forces long-range reconnaissance patrol. Sfc. Zabitosky's patrol was operating deep within enemy-controlled territory when they were attacked by a numerically superior North Vietnamese Army unit. Sfc. Zabitosky rallied his team members, deployed them into defensive positions, and, exposing himself to concentrated enemy automatic weapons fire, directed their return fire. Realizing the gravity of the situation, Sfc. Zabitosky ordered his patrol to move to a landing zone for helicopter extraction while he covered their withdrawal with rifle fire and grenades. Rejoining the patrol under increasing enemy pressure, he positioned each man in a tight perimeter defense and continually moved from man to man, encouraging them and controlling their defensive fire. Mainly due to his example, the outnumbered patrol maintained its precarious position until the arrival of tactical air support and a helicopter extraction team. As the rescue helicopters arrived, the determined North Vietnamese pressed their attack. Sfc. Zabitosky repeatedly exposed himself to their fire to adjust suppressive helicopter gunship fire around the landing zone. After boarding 1 of the rescue helicopters, he positioned himself in the door delivering fire on the enemy as the ship took off. The helicopter was engulfed in a hail of bullets and Sfc. Zabitosky was thrown from the craft as it spun out of control and crashed. Recovering consciousness, he ignored his extremely painful injuries and moved to the flaming wreckage. Heedless of the danger of exploding ordnance and fuel, he pulled the severely wounded pilot from the searing blaze and made repeated attempts to rescue his patrol members but was driven back by the intense heat. Despite his serious burns and crushed ribs, he carried and dragged the unconscious pilot through a curtain of enemy fire to within 10 feet of a hovering rescue helicopter before collapsing. Sfc. Zabitosky's extraordinary heroism and devotion to duty were in keeping with the highest traditions of the military service and reflect great credit upon himself, his unit, and the U.S. Army.

Relatively bland narration. Doesnt give much in specifics as to what he was doing or who he was with. It also puts him in the Republic of Vietnam. The relevant events actually happened in Cambodia and involved a MACV-SOG Recon Team.

Wasnt exactly a lie. The Soldier was assigned to 5th SFG and he was within about 40 miles of the Republic of Vietnam !

Thats interesting. There is a Silver Star awardee Internet website. Now the DB there is updated by humans so there is a potential for human error BUT I don't think it likely one would be missed because high valor awards are so public and if you get one typically more people then you know about it. Usually those people will tell others about it in most cases.

So thats why I asked on this. I was curious if it was possible if the award could be kept under wraps for one reason or another. It sounds like the answer is probably no.

I've seen Silver Star citations written with so much ambiguity that it was obvious that the mission was classified, especially looking at the 201 file. But, there is always a citation.

The only award I have personally heard of being held back because of classification was a jump wings mustard stain. When B co 3-504 jumped in to Afghanistan to support the 75th, it was declassified a year later and they had a ceremony to recognize them.

Lt. earned a Navy Cross he can’t wear

By Andrew Scutro - Staff writer
Posted : Wednesday Oct 29, 2008 13:35:59 EDT

Somewhere out in the fleet, there’s a Navy medical officer who earned the Navy Cross during vicious, hammering combat five years ago.

And he’s not authorized to wear the award — second only to the Medal of Honor.

That’s because the 2003 mission, during which the officer fought like a demon and put himself in the line of fire to save several wounded American and Afghan comrades from al-Qaida and Taliban forces, remains classified.

And so does his identity.

A spokeswoman for the Navy secretary confirmed the existence of the Navy Cross recipient after Navy Times forwarded her a copy of the officer’s citation, in which his name is redacted. So secret was the award that the Navy did not include it when queried as to the number of sailors who have earned the Navy Cross since Sept. 11, 2001. The Navy has now changed the number of recipients from six to seven, even though the seventh award was presented more than a year ago.

“The Department of the Navy has approved the awarding of seven Navy Crosses for Navy personnel,” Capt. Beci Brenton, spokeswoman for Navy Secretary Donald Winter, said Friday.

According to the citation, which is not classified, the unnamed lieutenant wasn’t caught in one brutal firefight but two. The citation does not identify the country but references Afghan personnel who were part of a “joint operational unit” on a mounted patrol with Americans.

Unclear whether night or day, the patrol was ambushed and pounded by “extremely heavy fire from rocket propelled grenades and small arms fire.” The lieutenant got out of his truck to return fire and pulled a wounded Afghan commander behind the engine block and away from the bullets.

Still under fire, he extricated a wounded American, the driver, who was “trapped behind the steering wheel” of a stricken vehicle.

While patching up that American, the lieutenant used his body as a shield, taking several bullets that only punched through his clothing and gear. He then made his way toward two wounded Afghans in the lead vehicles.

After tending to them, he found a squad of Afghan soldiers in “disarray,” rallied them and sent them forward to “break the ambush.”

The account of the first contact ends with the lieutenant treating and evacuating several wounded.

Later in the day, “while sweeping an area of earlier action, a U.S.-Afghan element was ambushed by a platoon-sized enemy force” near the lieutenant. It’s not clear whether the element was the same joint operating unit ambushed earlier.

After an American and an Afghan were “severely wounded,” the lieutenant had to run 200 meters “between opposing forces” and under “withering and continuous heavy machine gun and small arms fire.”

The lieutenant took shrapnel while tending to the two and protecting them from fire “now directed at him.”

An Apache gunship fired rockets while the lieutenant mustered the remaining Afghans, led a “fighting withdrawal” to safety, then moved out “overland back to base.” He finally treated his own wounds when he stopped moving.

In the citation signed by Winter, the lieutenant was noted for “heroic display of decisive and tenacious leadership, unyielding courage in the face of constant enemy fire, and utmost devotion to duty. ...”

‘Sensitive’ mission
Brenton said the information in the citation is unclassified but the officer’s identity remains undisclosed because “the mission was sensitive.”

He was awarded the Navy Cross in April 2007.

“His name has been redacted to protect the individual, as well as the individual’s family,” Brenton said.

She confirmed that he is alive, but it is unclear whether he is still in the Navy or if he has since been promoted.

While acknowledging seven recipients, the Navy has given names of only four of them: Hospital Corpsman 2nd Class (FMF) Luis Fonseca; Gunner’s Mate 2nd Class (SEAL) Danny Dietz; Sonar Technician (Surface) 2nd Class (SEAL) Matthew Axelson; and Special Warfare Operator 1st Class Marcus Luttrell.

“The other three were presented privately due to the sensitivity and classified nature of their missions,” Brenton said.

Besides the lieutenant, the other two, according to several Internet searches, are Master Chief Special Warfare Operator Britt Slabinski and Senior Chief Special Warfare Operator Stephen Bass. Their citations are on the Legion of Valor’s Web site. The legion is a congressionally chartered organization of Medal of Honor, Distinguished Service Cross, Navy Cross and Air Force Cross recipients. Once a service member earns one of those awards, he becomes a member of the legion.

bajor, this is what I suspected because I heard about this happening in the past when I was in uniform in the 1980's. I can't tell what was rumor or truth back then though.

Thanks for the post and that leads to my next question.

I understand some GWOT SOCOM awards might still be classified (because it is recent) but what about awards from past conflicts? At what point does the classification lapse and can it extend indefinitely?

Also, maybe I did not look hard enough but did not see unnamed citations on the Silver Star website.....I'll have to look at the Legion of Valor website for that (just curious).

I have an answer for you on the classiofied awards thread. WWRutland

Thanks, read it and that helps a lot with my understanding of this.

quote:

Originally posted by 300_Spartans:
If someone performs some feat of derring do on a classified mission and the command wants to award him, they do one of a couple things:

1. Declassify the mission.
2. Use generic terminology.
3. Fudge a little with sensitive facts.
4. A combination of 1-3.

I wonder how much the award and changes in media have changed this practice.
- Given the rarity of the top two valor awards, it would be hard to 'fudge' the citations and keep them vague without causing a commotion with todays instant media.
Back pre-internet it would take a lot of hours looking at papers and finding people to talk about action x. Today the media - and people like FEM - would sniff out what happened where & when if Joe Smith received award x for action at an undisclosed time & place.

quote:

Originally posted by LandGuppy:
The only award I have personally heard of being held back because of classification was a jump wings mustard stain. When B co 3-504 jumped in to Afghanistan to support the 75th, it was declassified a year later and they had a ceremony to recognize them.

Strange, that seemed like a fairly straight forward joint light infantry operation. I wonder what could have made it "sensitive" enough to classify?