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By Guy Page
Another military hero honored by President Trump at his Tuesday State of the Union speech has a Vermont connection.
As reported by VDC, President Trump recognized WWII Purple Heart and Bronze Star winner George “Buddy” Taggert, 99, of Castleton during the speech. Today, VDC learned that the U.S. Army helicopter pilot who was gravely wounded during the capture of Venezuelan President Nicholas Maduro is a Norwich University graduate.
Chief Warrant Officer 5 Eric Slover, a U.S. Army helicopter pilot and graduate of Northfield-based Norwich University’s College of Graduate and Continuing Studies, was awarded the Medal of Honor during Tuesday’s State of the Union address by President Donald Trump.
Slover, who serves with the Army’s 160th Special Operations Aviation Regiment, was severely wounded last month while flying the lead MH-47 Chinook helicopter during a high-risk January raid that resulted in the capture of former Venezuelan President Maduro. Despite sustaining multiple gunshot wounds, he maintained control of the aircraft and ensured mission success.
Trump presented the nation’s highest military honor to Slover in the Capitol, where he appeared with his wife and received a standing ovation.
“We are immensely proud of Chief Warrant Officer 5 Eric Slover and the extraordinary honor he received in being awarded the Medal of Honor,” LtGen John J. Broadmeadow, USMC (Ret.), President of Norwich University, said in a press statement. “To have this recognition bestowed during the State of the Union underscores not only the magnitude of his courage and service, but the values he represents. As the 10th Norwich alumnus to receive our nation’s highest military decoration, CW5 Slover stands in a long and distinguished line of citizen- soldiers reflecting the enduring Norwich ethos that prepares leaders to serve with honor in the most demanding moments.”
The Medal of Honor itself holds a deep and historic connection to Norwich University, rooted in the institution’s longstanding influence on American military leadership and service. One of the many consequential figures in that legacy is Gideon Welles, Norwich Class of 1826, who served as U.S. Secretary of the Navy under President Abraham Lincoln during the Civil War. Secretary Welles played a critical role in the creation of the Medal of Honor, helping establish the nation’s highest military decoration at a moment when courage and sacrifice were reshaping the country.
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Categories: Military, National News
There is so much to gain from an army experience, do not miss the opportunity.
Not to diminish Chief Warrant Officer Eric Slover’s heroic actions, but typically the awarding of the Medal of Honor requires a lengthy process. It seems as though President Trump my have bypassed the process for theater’s sake. Frankly, I was surprised to see the Medal of Honor awarded so soon after the events leading to it. Here is the process according to the official Congressional Medal of Honor site:
Action Documentation Requirement to Be Awarded the Medal of Honor
All recommendations require thorough reports on the act itself, the battlefield and its setting. Every aspect of the action that led to the nomination is documented, from eyewitness statements, to the actions itself, to weather reports… every piece must be examined and verified.
Medal of Honor Nomination Process
Once the documentation is pulled together into a packet, the packet must go through the chain of command. At each step, it is evaluated. Does the action rise to the level of the Medal of Honor? Or does it deserve a different medal? The packet can be approved for the Medal of Honor, a lesser award, or for no medal at all.
Recommendation packets must be approved all the way up the military command structure. If approved at every step for the Medal of Honor, the packet then moves to the Department of Defense and begins the cycle there. It must again be approved by each department in the Department of Defense, all the way up the President as the Commander-in-Chief.
https://www.cmohs.org/news-events/blog/how-is-the-medal-of-honor-awarded/
Check out the flow chart . . .