Talk:Achievement Medal

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There is something that is missing here. While this is poorly written, it should be noted that the USAF has added a new combat medal BELOW this Air Force Medal, which means that this Airman has done something remarkable if it is true. The fact that he was awarded this as an A1C and in a non-combat role compels us to determine if this was indeed true. If it is true, it illustrates a missing facet of the explanation of this medal and it's current explanation. Should it be verified, someone should do a better job writing the contribution; are there any surviving witnesses or images? I believe the newspaper which covers the Tinker AFB is the "Tinker Takeoff" and has a wider distribution than the Daily Oklahoman city newspaper so it should be mentioned there.

I think the individual example at the end of the article is pretty unnecessary. Regardless, it is inconsistent - was he an Airman First Class, or an E2?Isaac Crumm 02:13, 23 June 2007 (UTC)

Agreed. Not only is it poorly written, but it reads like a vanity paragraph. I vote we move it here, in case anyone else disagrees, and delete it from the article. --ScreaminEagle 00:53, 27 June 2007 (UTC)

One of these exceptional cases was awarded to Airman First Class Daryl Tempesta, while stationed at Tinker A.F.B. in Oklahoma, he volunteered over 600 hours of his own personal time in improving the living conditions of the Airman's Dormitory. He single handedly painted over 10,000 sq feet of murals. This contribution was the deciding factor of that years world wide official USAF base competition for the most outstanding base. His work was cited as proof of excellent moral and readiness of the base in general. This was a very rare occurrence, as it occurred during peace time and in not in combat. As well as an E2 pay grade in under 2 years he achieved pentagon recognition which even most officers do not receive in their entire career. This may be the lowest ranking Airman to achieve the medal in such a short time. The mural was destroyed during the buildings replacement.

There is NOTHING remarkable about getting an Achievement Medal in peace time. While the integrity of every award varies from service to service, the Achievement Medal overall is generally practically given away nowadays. Putting up the above example makes about as much sense as me copying the citation for my own that I got 6 months ago, or putting up at random one of the hundred or so that I saw given out over the last two years. It was a little harder to get a couple decades ago, but even then it was still hardly a freak occurrence to see it awarded in peacetime (it was, after all, until recently a non-combat-zone only decoration in the Army and Air Force). Sonlee 02:31, 10 November 2007 (UTC)

There are PLENTY of reasons where an achievement medal is exceptional in peace time. Those that are exceptional are awarded for one-time events (such as a particularly exceptional inspection/meritorious act). However, I will concede that most are "given" away as end-of-tour decorations. But there are certainly MANY times an achievement medal is exceptional.

One example of this was an Airman who jumped out of his vehicle and rescued a person who was hit by a car by performing first aid (despite no significant medical training, he recognized an artery was bleeding, reached into the wound, and held the artery until an ambulance arrived) . Another example I know of was an airman who created a guide for the maintenance of some outdated equipment (with no actual experience on the equipment, he wrote an entire manual and saved the Air Force about $40,000). These things DO happen in peacetime...though the given example is hardly one of them. — BQZip01 — ^talk 06:31, 10 November 2007 (UTC)

— BQZip01 — talk 06:26, 10 November 2007 (UTC)