Posted: April 01, 2008
9:51 pm Eastern
© 2008 WorldNetDaily
The Navy has reversed itself regarding a voluntary program in Idaho for residents to raise funds and present veterans returning from military duty in Afghanistan and Iraq with engraved knives from Buck Knives, which is headquartered in the area.
WND reported just a day ago that a ruling from Navy officials was preventing the town from honoring its veterans, because the military personnel were not being allowed to accept the Buck knives.
However, a memo from Navy Capt. Michael Kidd today relieved service men and women of that restriction.
He said there is an exception to the ban on the acceptance of such honorariums, and it appears to apply in this case.
"Under the [ethics rules], gifts offered by non-prohibited sources to a group of personnel that do not distinguish on the basis of official responsibility or favor higher rank or pay may be accepted by those personnel," Kidd's memo said. "This exception applies when all members of a particular unit are offered gifts, which appears to be the case in this instance.
"Also, the donor group has been making similar presentations to the Idaho National Guard personnel and other military units returning from deployment since at least 2003. The current offer is a continuation of this practice and reflects an intent on the part of the donors to make these gifts available to a broad class of personnel returning from deployment," he wrote.
Kidd said personnel are not allowed to accept gifts "if acceptance could create the appearance of impropriety ... such as if the gift's value was excessive and unreasonable under the circumstances or acceptance would create an implied endorsement by the Navy of a non-federal entity."
However, "this does not appear to be the situation in this case. The knives are valued at approximately $100 and there is no indication that the actual presentations would in any manner imply Navy endorsement of a non-federal private entity (such as the manufacturer)," he said.
The general rule, he noted, is that Navy rules prohibit the acceptance by military personnel of certain types of gifts, specifically providing that they "may not accept gifts offered by a prohibited source or given because of the employee's official position."
He concluded that the local volunteers making the presentations did not qualify as a "prohibited source."
A spokeswoman for Buck Knives said a presentation for several dozen returning service members will go forward on Saturday as scheduled. It will be at the Buck offices, where personnel will get special editions of the company's "Vanguard" knife.
An unidentified senior Navy officer recently had told Troy Gilbert, a member of a Hayden, Idaho-based Mobile Construction Battalion, since the value of the knives was more than $20, members of the military were banned from accepting them, according to an earlier report in the Coeur d'Alene Press.
"Who's in charge here anyway? Dumb and Dumber?" asked "davenjan" on the newspaper's forum page.
A spokeswoman for Post Falls Mayor Clay Larkin confirmed that the mayor had discussed the situation with the Navy, and had been informed of the change in the decision.
Earlier, he told the newspaper the ban didn't make any sense.
"I would like to know what top-ranking brass made this decision, and I will personally call them and share my thoughts!" he told the newspaper.
The program was launched several years ago as Graham Crutchfield, a retired Marine, organized the plan to raise money from individuals, service clubs and businesses and work with the company on the commemorative knife presentations.
More than 500 veterans from the region, including those wounded in combat, have been given the knives since 2005, officials said. They also have been presented to family members of those killed in action.
Larkin noted an "interesting part" of the argument is that two generals already have been given – and accepted – the knives, "and never has anyone questioned the presentation or the gift for their service."
Paul Abschier, a World War II vet, told the newspaper. "It's the stupidest thing I've heard of. They've put their lives on the line and they can't receive a knife?"
On the newspaper forum, "Former Ranger," said, "This is utterly ridiculous. When did common sense leave those who are in charge?"
"I still can't believe any service would do such a thing," Crutchfield said. "Megan McClung was a Marine and Annapolis graduate who was killed in Iraq. We gave her parents a knife. Are we saying her life is only worth $20?"
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