Monday 9 November 2009

The "Heroism" of The Just Adequate

Does the brouhaha about the female police Sergeant who shot the Fort Hood jihadist go on your nerves as well? For Heaven's Sake she did her JOB, not more, not less. We are so used to inapt women in men's jobs that we hail one as heroic already when all she's done was NOT to turn out as a complete failure.

And before somebody asks me whether I had performed as well in her case: No I very probably hadn't. And specifically not because I'd never had exposed myself to such a situation. Women have no business to be soldiers, police officers or firefighters. Full stop. She is an exception from the rule that women regularly fail to cope with situations like that. That is not their fault. What IS their fault is to hubristically expose themselves to them and then fail to protect those they are supposed to protect and - worse - force men to endanger themselves to save their inferior double-X-chromosome-addled sorry arses in archetypical protective instinct. Thus, this woman is NOT a case for females in such jobs, and she is certainly NOT a hero.

THIS is a hero:
Rank and organization: Master Sergeant, U.S. Army. Place and date: 3 October 1993, Mogadishu, Somalia. Entered service at: ----- Born: Lincoln, Maine. Citation: Master Sergeant Gordon, United States Army, distinguished himself by actions above and beyond the call of duty on 3 October 1993, while serving as Sniper Team Leader, United States Army Special Operations Command with Task Force Ranger in Mogadishu, Somalia. Master Sergeant Gordon's sniper team provided precision fire from the lead helicopter during an assault and at two helicopter crash sites, while subjected to intense automatic weapons and rocket propelled grenade fires. When Master Sergeant Gordon learned that ground forces were not immediately available to secure the second crash site, he and another sniper unhesitatingly volunteered to be inserted to protect the four critically wounded personnel, despite being well aware of the growing number of enemy personnel closing in on the site. After his third request to be inserted, Master Sergeant Gordon received permission to perform his volunteer mission. When debris and enemy ground fires at the site caused them to abort the first attempt, Master Sergeant Gordon was inserted one hundred meters south of the crash site. Equipped with only his sniper rifle and a pistol, Master Sergeant Gordon and his fellow sniper, while under intense small arms fire from the enemy, fought their way through a dense maze of shanties and shacks to reach the critically injured crew members. Master Sergeant Gordon immediately pulled the pilot and the other crew members from the aircraft, establishing a perimeter which placed him and his fellow sniper in the most vulnerable position. Master Sergeant Gordon used his long range rifle and side arm to kill an undetermined number of attackers until he depleted his ammunition. Master Sergeant Gordon then went back to the wreckage, recovering some of the crew's weapons and ammunition. Despite the fact that he was critically low on ammunition, he provided some of it to the dazed pilot and then radioed for help. Master Sergeant Gordon continued to travel the perimeter, protecting the downed crew. After his team member was fatally wounded and his own rifle ammunition exhausted, Master Sergeant Gordon returned to the wreckage, recovering a rifle with the last five rounds of ammunition and gave it to the pilot with the words, "good luck." Then, armed only with his pistol, Master Sergeant Gordon continued to fight until he was fatally wounded. His actions saved the pilot's life. Master Sergeant Gordon's extraordinary heroism and devotion to duty were in keeping with the highest standards of military service and reflect great credit upon him, his unit and the United States Army.
(Medal of Honor citation for Master Sergeant Gary I. Gordon)