I’m writing in reference to "Medals given like lollipops" (letter, March 26). As an officer, I am familiar with the "fluid awards" issue.

Last deployment, a lot of the staff officers and senior enlisted received Bronze Stars. At the time, I thought that they only did their jobs and did nothing to earn a Bronze Star. Since then, I’ve been a company executive officer and now a staff officer, and I now realize that those "desk jockeys" the writer referred to do more work in six hours than some soldiers do in a week. The people who are required to sit behind a desk are charged with planning and executing missions, as well as implementing guidelines and policies designed to accomplish missions and ensure everyone makes it home alive.

I understand that a specialist’s field of vision might be limited as to what goes on in the "head shed." But trust me when I say that every Bronze Star that was presented was earned, not given. It’s no easy feat to get a Bronze Star approved. Also keep in mind that Bronze Stars can be either meritorious or for valor. You don’t have to see combat to earn one.

I was more than a little offended when the writer stated that he questions all Bronze Star recipients. My father, a retired first sergeant, earned one of his two Bronze Stars during the invasion of Afghanistan by taking a barren piece of land and turning it into a fully functioning aircraft maintenance facility. Try to tell me you’d question his receiving a Meritorious Bronze Star now.

First Lt. Michael J.C. GomezForward Operating Base Sharana, Afghanistan