jadotVille

[na grohmiti]

Keep the audience numbers to a minimum and you reduce the chance of the "minister" being cornered and asked difficult questions. There is no shortage of space for family of those survivors (most of whom or now at advanced age) in Costume Barracks.
Same askole decided to do an NS med Medal parade on a weekend in Rosslare so he would be close to his constituency. Ignoring completely the fact that ship, its crew and their families, not to mention the obligatory GoH would all have to travel to accomodate him.
P.S. There is fork all on the pier in rosslare.
Is there no end to this mans disrespect for the Defence Forces and their family?

[Buck]

http://www.thejournal.ie/jadotville-...03551-Nov2017/

This whole thing is a cluster fvck.

1. A made up, essentially mingy medal to get people to shut up again about the injustice.
2. No room for people to attend. I get that they want to follow the usual DF format for medal ceremonies but this is hardly those.

[expat01]

Apropos of nothing, I always found it odd that our highest military award expressly excludes actions carried out on war service from the criteria.

[Buck]

I'm delighted the men of A Company are getting recognition in the form of a medal finally after all these years but I have a few questions.

1. Is the medal only to be ever issued to the men from A Company who were at Jadotville?
2. If yes, is that not just a bit of a sop to them? "Here's your medal now shhhhh about the whole thing"
3. Surely an already established medal would have been far far more fitting? (MMG or DSM? or a new medal created for the men of A Company but then freely awardable after)

[danno]

No problem with the CO getting a gong etc for pulling off a positive outcome if the circumstances are such that his/her career goes south if the mission turns sour. The Board wont be interested in the skipper highlighting crew shortcomings.

[hptmurphy]

When the now COS got his DSM, others were also nominated for their actions. However only his and the coxn got them. CoS appealed for all to get reconition, but was told to take his or take none.

And it should have been all or nothing!

Excellent leadership should be awarded where justified.

Were all these people recommended for medals and a medals board said no?

Its down to circumstances in that case.... a reservist corporal could have displayed 'excellent leadership' skills at any point in his tenure, but will it ever be recognised?

Were the others ever recognised...nope but for a brief moment in time they rose to a challenge but because it didn't get the PR they just got on with it.

Same happened for the Crew of L.E. Aisling after Air India.

I purposely didn't mention that one for reasons I'm not going into......if everything was a clear cut the Cliona three should have got medals but similar circumstances arose on Aisling but medals were awarded..and it wasn't the firsts time in Aislings case...

cryptic or what.....!!!

[na grohmiti]

Hahaha great leadership so, wouldn't risk losing his own shiny over the plebs getting some recognition.

That's your way of looking at it. Had he refused his (and the coxn) then nobody would have got recognition for that particular action. As it stands, his award (while he serves) is always associated with the ship and it's crew at that time.
Same happened for the Crew of L.E. Aisling after Air India. Everyone on the ship those days went through the same horrible scenes, and got on with their job. Only 4 got medals for it.

[The real Jack]

Hahaha great leadership so, wouldn't risk losing his own shiny over the plebs getting some recognition.

[na grohmiti]

He got paid, he was a ships captain, made the decisions every day, other captains undertook action that never made the media that took similar skill and dedication!

Its was all creditable towards his future promotion. His actions etc were useless if everyone of the ships company didn't work with him.

the searider cox'n got another one, but the boarding party didn't get anything.......

Mark Mellet was an exceptional naval officer, but there were others as good if not better at times who did the same job...without getting the medal.

I think it was Rory Costello who put Aoife to sea with a reduced crew the night of the Kowloon Bridge incident....Noel Goulding prevented the Deirdre being lost when here forward store flooded. Brian O'Shea pulled off some fantastic seaman ship on Emer during Hurricane Charley..medals no.......but to their crews were just as good!

In my brief period in the NS I could list 10 people who went over and above in a very short period, but just drew their pay every week

When the now COS got his DSM, others were also nominated for their actions. However only his and the coxn got them. CoS appealed for all to get reconition, but was told to take his or take none.

[DeV]

He got paid, he was a ships captain, made the decisions every day, other captains undertook action that never made the media that took similar skill and dedication!

Its was all creditable towards his future promotion. His actions etc were useless if everyone of the ships company didn't work with him.

the searider cox'n got another one, but the boarding party didn't get anything.......

Mark Mellet was an exceptional naval officer, but there were others as good if not better at times who did the same job...without getting the medal.

I think it was Rory Costello who put Aoife to sea with a reduced crew the night of the Kowloon Bridge incident....Noel Goulding prevented the Deirdre being lost when here forward store flooded. Brian O'Shea pulled off some fantastic seaman ship on Emer during Hurricane Charley..medals no.......but to their crews were just as good!

In my brief period in the NS I could list 10 people who went over and above in a very short period, but just drew their pay every week

Excellent leadership should be awarded where justified.

Were all these people recommended for medals and a medals board said no?

[hptmurphy]

He got paid, he was a ships captain, made the decisions every day, other captains undertook action that never made the media that took similar skill and dedication!

Its was all creditable towards his future promotion. His actions etc were useless if everyone of the ships company didn't work with him.

the searider cox'n got another one, but the boarding party didn't get anything.......

Mark Mellet was an exceptional naval officer, but there were others as good if not better at times who did the same job...without getting the medal.

I think it was Rory Costello who put Aoife to sea with a reduced crew the night of the Kowloon Bridge incident....Noel Goulding prevented the Deirdre being lost when here forward store flooded. Brian O'Shea pulled off some fantastic seaman ship on Emer during Hurricane Charley..medals no.......but to their crews were just as good!

In my brief period in the NS I could list 10 people who went over and above in a very short period, but just drew their pay every week

[hptmurphy]

well ,ok, what happens when an award is given to a ship's Captain? does he earn the gong or does the whole ship's crew ? It's very hard to judge when there are collective actions. If you leave out one of the entire Jadotville company, then a fuss will kick off...

There exactly lies the problem where ships captains have gotten medals but the actual close up work was done by the peasants below decks.
Unless there are specific actions attributable to individuals the whole lot get to wear a meritious citation clasp or ribbon on their uniform in some form, those who carried out individual actions get a higher award.
Setting the bar for Unit citations and individual awards being the problem.

[DeV]

well ,ok, what happens when an award is given to a ship's Captain? does he earn the gong or does the whole ship's crew ? It's very hard to judge when there are collective actions. If you leave out one of the entire Jadotville company, then a fuss will kick off...

"For distinguished service as captain of confidence and leadership ...... His personal skill, dedication and devotion to duty...."
Lt Cdr Mellett DSM

[Bam Bam]

would the citation for this medal be something along the lines of:

"In recognition for the deplorable treatment from the Irish people, government and military authorities endured by the officers and men of A Coy 35th UN Batt ONUC for the majority of their adult lives after the action fought in Jadotville September 1961. This medal has been issued not so much to recognise service in keeping with the best traditions of the Irish Defence Forces but as a means of 'closing the book' on a subject wrongly seen as shameful and cowardly by the Defence Forces and Irish Government at the time."

[GoneToTheCanner]

well ,ok, what happens when an award is given to a ship's Captain? does he earn the gong or does the whole ship's crew ? It's very hard to judge when there are collective actions. If you leave out one of the entire Jadotville company, then a fuss will kick off...