YOU CAN BEAT TERRORIST, BUT YOU CAN'T BEAT THE BUREAUCRACY

This is too bad...while the bureaucratic weenies in DC are still figuring this out, some soldiers will exit the service. Many of those will never receive their medals, even though they will be authorized to

If servicemembers are saving a few spots on their ribbon bar for the Global War on Terrorism Service or Expeditionary medals, they may be waiting a while before they?re filled.

Last year, President Bush authorized the medals, but ?the criteria for the medals are still in the review process,? Department of Defense spokeswoman Lt. Cmdr. Jane Campbell said last week.

The two medals are similar in name but differ based on what a servicemember does in the war on terrorism. The expeditionary medal ?is for those who deploy to fight, and the service version is for those who support and defend,? Campbell wrote in an e-mail to Stars and Stripes.