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 Post subject: I wish they would get it right.
PostPosted: Thu Mar 18, 2010 4:22 pm 
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BBC wrote:
George Cross for Army bomb heroes
Olaf Schmid, Kim Hughes
The George Cross is one of the UK's highest awards for gallantry

Two Army bomb disposal experts have been awarded the George Cross for their heroics in Afghanistan.

A posthumous honour goes to Staff Sergeant Olaf Schmid, 30, who made safe 64 devices before his death in October while defusing a bomb near Sangin. The GC, one of the UK's highest awards for gallantry, was also presented to his comrade in the Royal Logistic Corps, Staff Sergeant Kim Hughes. Last August, he cleared a minefield to enable the rescue of four soldiers.

His efforts were described in the Ministry of Defence citation as "the single most outstanding act of explosive ordnance disposal ever recorded in Afghanistan". He dismantled seven Taliban bombs by hand without any protective clothing so that four seriously wounded soldiers and the bodies of two dead comrades could be recovered.

The George Cross is the country's highest award for gallantry by civilians, or by military personnel not in the presence of the enemy. Staff Sgt Schmid, who had been in the Army for 13 years and was a member of the Oxfordshire-based 11 Explosive Ordnance Disposal Regiment, deployed to Afghanistan in June 2009.

Staff Sgt Olaf Schmid deployed to Afghanistan in June 2009. At the time of his death he was a week away from flying back to the UK for a two-week break.

Staff Sgt Hughes, 30, from Telford, Shropshire, was deployed to secure an emergency helicopter landing site south west of Sangin.

Members of the company he was with were injured when a bomb went off and he neutralised a number of devices to enable their rescue. On Friday, more than 150 medals are expected to be announced by the Ministry of Defence recognising the efforts of British service personnel in Afghanistan, Iraq and other parts of the world.



Why does the media always understate the award of a George Cross. Lets get this straight, it is not one of a range of gongs, it is the very highest level of bravery award. It is exactly the same level of medal as the Victoria Cross.

Brave men like Olaf Schmid and Kim Hughes deserve to be recognised appropriately for their incredible courage.


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 Post subject: Re: I wish they would gt it right.
PostPosted: Thu Mar 18, 2010 4:25 pm 
It's just lazy journalism, a bit like thinking you know everything when in fact you know nowt. :roll:

You should be shot in the face for that, pissed on and thrown in a skip. :evil:


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 Post subject: Re: I wish they would get it right.
PostPosted: Thu Mar 18, 2010 4:45 pm 
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in cases such as this, they need to make damn sure they employ someone who knows what they are writing about
Getting football facts and figures wrong is one thing, but insulting war heroes is another

Believing you understand something and knowing you understand something are two entirely different concepts - to the point that anyone who believes they are right without actually knowing if they are, is actually lying to themselves as well as everybody else

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 Post subject: Re: I wish they would gt it right.
PostPosted: Thu Mar 18, 2010 7:33 pm 
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Spender wrote:
It's just lazy journalism, a bit like thinking you know everything when in fact you know nowt. :roll:

You should be shot in the face for that, pissed on and thrown in a skip. :evil:


Why hold back?

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 Post subject: Re: I wish they would get it right.
PostPosted: Thu Mar 18, 2010 10:43 pm 
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I enjoy slagging off lazy hacks as much as the next lazy hack slagger but I don't think they were that far wrong.

"One of" can mean one of two and they do say it is the highest award for civilians or military personnel "not in the face of the enemy" i.e. the equivalent of the Victoria Cross. Must admit I think working with a bomb is fully in the face of the enemy and I don't see the need to separate them out but it wasn't the journalist who decided to differentiate there.

You could argue they're a bit vague but they certainly aren't insulting anybody. Unless I missed something, I am a bit pissed.


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 Post subject: Re: I wish they would get it right.
PostPosted: Thu Mar 18, 2010 10:49 pm 
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The sentiment is that its an important award but not as important as it is. The public understand the VC, its clearer to just state that it is the same level award as the VC.

Yeah, I agree on that and if I were an RLC ATO I would be well pissed off if the premeditated bravery of the long walk was not recognised for what it is.


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 Post subject: Re: I wish they would get it right.
PostPosted: Thu Mar 18, 2010 11:04 pm 
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True, would have been clearer to just say that but I'd argue for a verdict of accidentally not quite right ahead of lazy, insulting bounder.


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 Post subject: Re: I wish they would get it right.
PostPosted: Thu Mar 18, 2010 11:57 pm 
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I think that if the journalist was reporting on the VC being awarded it is a fair bet that the words " the highest award for gallantry" would have been used instead of "one of".
I think if the majority of people were asked to rank the two medals in order of importance, the VC would come out top. It wouldn't surprise me if the journalist also thought that. There are some areas where the media have a duty to get it right, beyond doubt or interpretation..........surely this is one of them.

In reports of this nature surely it would be prudent to ask an "expert" to scan it, thus avoiding the chance of mis-interpretation.

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