This still won't be a full entry, but there is a very timely quote that I heard today.
I saw SSgt Sal Guinta interviewed today, and he said that he didn't really feel the Medal of Honor was appropriate for him, or perhaps that what he had done wasn't necessarily all that exceptional. When asked why, he said, "It's not about me...in all the times I've been in combat in Afghanistan, I've never been alone, I've never been shot at alone, I've never been left alone, since I've been in the Army." He went on to note that he was part of team, and that the team accomplishments were more relevant.
In the Air Force, it has been the same for me. This is the single largest thing that I could critique about the movie the Hurt Locker; so often the characters, or the small team, seems isolated, and alone. They frequently separate, and almost never talk to the units or the people around them. This is not the American way of war...you are never alone. If you are, something is very very wrong.
As well, I deeply admire his honesty and humility. Another quote that I found after searching his name, this one is even more eloquent: ."I did what I did because in the scheme of painting the picture of that ambush, that was just my brush stroke. That’s not above and beyond. I didn’t take the biggest brush stroke, and it wasn’t the most important brush stroke."
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Salvatore_Giunta
http://iloaktree.blogspot.com/2010/06/hurt-locker.html
