Bronze Stars, Like Those Hegseth Earned, Are Common Among Military Officers

For many military officers who serve in war zones, Bronze Stars are akin to a pass or fail, said Jason Dempsey, a former Army officer who served in Iraq and Afghanistan and is now a leader in civilian-military relations.

“The expectation is you’re getting one, unless you mess up,” said Dempsey, who also has two Bronze Stars dating to his wartime deployments. “It sounds exotic,” he added, “but unfortunately people don’t realize, more often than not, it’s something fairly routine and bureaucratic.”

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Veterans turned politicians, as well as their supporters, have incentive to leverage the public’s limited understanding of the military and its award system, said Katherine L. Kuzminski, a military policy expert at the Center for a New American Security. She noted that former service members often receive deference in American society, and that can become a concern when the job at hand may exceed what their military experience says about their professional qualifications.

Bronze Stars and other awards, Kuzminski said, “signal credibility that may not actually carry into other areas.”

Read the full article on The Washington Post.