Comments on: Colonel Kimberly Olson Accused of Misconduct in Iraq Role

By: Jem

Jem — Thu, 20 Apr 2006 08:08:00 +0000

I definitely agree with you, James, about the tendency to give these things out frivolously and based more on paygrade than contribution. If the medals listed on that page are an accurate reflection of what she's received (i.e., no Oak Leaf Clusters on her MSM), then it appears Ron's comment about her rubbing people the wrong way has been an ongoing characteristic of her career. Once upon a time, I'd have been far more trusting of the military justice system to get this sort of thing right...but I've come to believe a little less in the objectivity of the system after seeing relatively minor punishment of flag rank wrongdoing (retiring in a lower grade doesn't impress me much when more junior officers/enlisted personnel are getting jail time and a felony record).

By: Ron

Ron — Wed, 19 Apr 2006 16:39:47 +0000

I am very disappointed to see this. I served with Col. Olson several times over the years. She was a very hard charger and well known for advancing the cause of women in the military; both attributes sometimes rubbed others the wrong way. She did some very impressive work during the Kosovo war, and I believe to this day that she saved the lives of some aircrew in that conflict. I can make no judgement on this issue, but I certainly hope there was no wrong doing and was a major misunderstanding

By: James Joyner

James Joyner — Wed, 19 Apr 2006 16:18:51 +0000

Jem,

Fair points, all. The "I did my job" awards are rather ludicrous, really, since they correspond so much to rank. Even worse, different branches of the service and different units within a given Service treat them differently. I've seen lieutenants with MSMs just because they were in an organization that handed them out like candy.

By: Jem

Jem — Wed, 19 Apr 2006 16:07:57 +0000

Actually, a DMSM for an O-6 is a bit of a slap in the face. I'd expect an O-6 to get a Legion of Merit or something like that. I suspect she got it earlier in her career (I and a few other Majors/Navy Lt Commanders were awarded DMSMs in 2003 after being mobilized post-9/11 for a year of active duty with the Joint Staff).

Also, it's pretty clear the LAT needs to hire an editor or two who knows more about the military than how to correctly spell the word--there are portions of the article that make it clear the writer has no clue about the military justice system or standard practices. Of course, the web site with her bio is amateur hour as well...and you would think an organization affiliated with the military would use fewer euphamisms. Ah, well...