Originally Posted by Baskitt Kase
I see that the RN Cdr (flown by the RAF to watch the civy team do the rescue) got his OBE today for this - shame that KH and others involved seem to have been forgotten. It appears that watching really is better than doing!
Trouble is that each Service submits it's own applications for honours and awards through the CoC. It's a long and tortuous route, and many fall by the wayside (including me, for the last 20 years apparently!). It's not so much the fault of the RN guy for getting it, or the fault of his lords and masters for putting him up, but the finger should be pointed at the RAF guy's lords and masters for not pushing him hard enough towards the final table.
Some of the submissions are comical in their ineptness when it comes to putting people forward, and some of the awards are politically-accelerated.