In a leaked Zoom call with moderate House Democrats on Sunday, President Joesph Biden once again used his dead son, Beau Biden, this time, to insult and denigrate the military and combat service of Colorado Congressman Jason Crow (D). Biden was unhinged as he told Crow to "tell me who did something that you’ve never done with your Bronze Star like my son!" President Biden was attempting to convey the message that he was fit and able to continue on with his campaign and snapped at Crow when he politely expressed his concerns to the president.
LEAKED: Zoom Call Shows Joe Biden Mocking a Combat Veteran's Service
During Shockingly Disturbing Rant
Instead of addressing Crow's and other moderate Democrats' concerns, Biden snapped at Crow and went on a full-blown assault, which ended with an attack on his Army and combat service and comparing it with his son Beau's service. Biden specifically ridiculed Crow's Bronze Star in a pathetic and out-of-bounds attack, which the campaign did not deny or dispute.
[I]t's Biden's shot about Crow's Bronze Star that stands out the most. It's not debatable that the president was mocking and belittling the representative's service in an attempt to claim that he's accomplished more than Crow. Biden randomly bringing up his deceased son is not at all surprising and is a familiar tick. In this case, though, the president was trying to dismiss Crow's multiple combat tours by falsely suggesting Beau Biden had done more with his Bronze Star despite being in a non-combat role.
From there, the president began screaming that he didn't "want to hear that crap" in response to Crow's gentle criticisms.
Beau Biden served in the Delaware Army National Guard as a JAG (Judge Advocate General) officer and served approximately one year in Iraq, assigned to the 261st Signal Brigade. He served from 2003-2009, obtaining the rank of Major before he died. During his time in Iraq, Beau Biden did not see combat, nor did he lead troops in any combat mission. His role as a JAG officer was an advisory role to American forces, usually when it came to rules of engagement during certain operations and other legal issues that came up. During/for his time in the National Guard, Biden was awarded two medals of note: a Bronze Star medal and a Legion of Merit, with the latter being awarded posthumously.
Representative Jason Crow, however, has a slightly different military background. Crow joined the Army in 2002, obtaining the rank of Captain before leaving the service in 2006. Crow served one tour in Iraq during the initial invasion in 2003, where he served as a platoon commander in the 82nd Airborne Division. Crow was awarded the Bronze Star with the "V" device for valor for actions during the Battle of Samawah. He then transferred over to the 75th Ranger Regiment, where he deployed to Afghanistan twice and was attached to the Joint Special Operations Task Force on the Pakistani border.
President Joe Biden told Crow that his service in combat didn't mean anything close to Beau's non-combat Iraq experience five years after the invasion. Putting aside that minor detail, what Biden did was tell an actual combat veteran that the Bronze Star he received for actions taken in the heat of battle didn't matter or did not amount to much of anything compared to Beau's. As a combat veteran myself, this is both infuriating and disgraceful. But for more reasons than you think.
When Biden told Crow that his medal wasn't worth the same as his son's, it obviously was something you just do not do. As a civilian, telling any veteran that any medal he or she may have doesn't mean anything compared to somebody else's is something you just don't do. It's like me telling two professional hockey players that their stats aren't as good as the other when I haven't played a minute of any level of hockey, let alone professional.
However, what really grinds my gears is that President Biden thinks that his son's Bronze Star and Crow's are, at the very least, equal when they are not. A very common misconception of civilians and military members alike is that the Bronze Star medal is a combat award only. This means that the Bronze Star can only be awarded for valorous actions on the battlefield. However, that is not true. The Bronze Star Medal actually may be awarded to individuals "who, while serving in any capacity with the Armed Forces of the United States in a combat theater, distinguish themselves by heroism, outstanding achievement, or by meritorious service not involving aerial flight."
This means that if you are deployed in a combat zone, a servicemember who is assigned an administrative duty, for example, can be awarded the medal for going above and beyond their normal duties. An example of that would be an intelligence officer compiling reports and discovering a plot about an enemy attack on an allied base and ensuring that intelligence made its way to those who needed it. They can be awarded the medal; however, it would be awarded without the combat distinguishing "V" device, which denotes valor for actions taken in direct combat. A Bronze Star with "V" is the fourth highest award for valor in combat, with the Silver Star, Service Cross (Army Distinguished Service Cross, Navy, Air Force Crosses), and Medal of Honor preceding it.
My honest opinion is that the Bronze Star medal should only be an award for heroism and/or valor in combat. It should not be used to award meritorious conduct when there are numerous meritorious conduct medals for that exact purpose. Awarding the Bronze Star for anything other than heroism or valor takes away some of that meaning for those who risked life and limb to be awarded that. It prevents incidents like President Biden's, where he compared the service and awards of his son to Crow's.
To be clear, there is a distinction between Beau Biden's and Jason Crow's service and awards. Beau did not risk his life the same way Crow did. Beau was exposed to burn pits and possibly some stray mortar and or rocket fire once or twice. Yes, he died because of brain cancer, possibly caused by those pits, but Crow traded gunfire and more with an armed enemy force. Crow was exposed to heavy small arms, machine gun, mortar, and RPG fire. For President Bident to discount or in any way reduce the importance and respect for what Crow did to earn that award is absolutely shameful and incredibly disrespectful.
To be clear, I am not denigrating or minimizing Beau's service or job, however, I am offering it as background to offer a compare and contrast between his service and experience and Crow's. I fully support and agree that all supporting arms elements of the United State's armed forces are just as vital as the actual warfighters. But I was a warfighter; I carried a rifle, grenades, and more for my job. I was exposed to and exchanged small arms, machine gun, and rocket and mortar fire with the enemy. And so did our radio operators, cooks, motor transport Marines, our Navy Corpsmen. Beau carried a pistol, coffee cup, and stacks of paper.