Tom Cruise Awarded Medal by US Navy - Is This Well-Earned or Idiotic?
In a country where the president seems, at times, to be mostly fictional, it’s a pretty apt metaphor for the state of things that the “Navy’s best recruiter” is also a non-existent pilot.
That being said, we probably shouldn’t be giving out awards for that state of affairs — which is exactly what has Tom Cruise winning the Distinguished Public Service Award from the U.S. Navy going bad-viral on social media.
This isn’t anything specifically against Tom Cruise, one of the last mega-stars of an era before which “A Few Good Men” would probably have to be made as a searing exploration of the white privilege of Lt. Daniel Kaffee — and how it makes him no better than Col. Nathan R. Jessup, them being both part of the same whiteness power structure that killed Private William Santiago.
And, please take note, this is absolutely, totally, 100 percent nothing to do with Cruise’s association with Scientology, a religion which is in no way false and has done absolutely nothing unethical, unlawful or intimidating against its enemies, real or perceived. (Please don’t sue me, David Miscavige.)
Instead, it’s the fact that U.S. Secretary of the Navy Carlos Del Toro decided that its highest civilian honor should be awarded to Cruise because he’d starred in two “Top Gun” movies.
Now, again, I’m not casting aspersions on 1986’s “Top Gun” or 2022’s “Top Gun: Maverick” — fine movies, both! However, what does it say when the Navy is admitting that Tom Cruise gets more recruits than Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin or former Joint Chiefs of Staff head Gen. Mark “White Rage” Milley?
In fact, those two probably chased more recruits away, either through vaccine mandates or wokeness, than they enticed.
“It was an honor to present Tom Cruise with a Defense Public Service award for his decades of naval advocacy through many movies,” said Secretary Del Toro in a statement Dec. 17, the day he presented Cruise with the award in London.
“His work has inspired generations to serve in our Navy and Marine Corps.”
“Cruise has made a wide range of contributions to the Department of the Navy from 1986 to 2023. He has spent nearly four decades as an unwavering supporter of the men, women, and families of the Navy and Marine Corps,” the statement noted.
“His dedicated efforts in the film industry have significantly increased public awareness and appreciation for Navy personnel and their sacrifices. As a result, recruitment for Navy pilots surged in the late 1980s and early 1990s … [and] Top Gun: Maverick brought nostalgia to older audiences and reinvigorated younger viewers’ interest in the skill sets and opportunities the Navy provides.”
“I’m happy I have been able to be a source of inspiration to many of the sailors who serve today or have served in the past,” Cruise said.
“The effort was not just on my end, but the cast and crew I get to work with on all our sets. They are what really bring the work to life.”
For what it’s worth, TIME revealed back in 1986 that the Defense Department offered the original “Top Gun” team a mere $1.8 million for the use of Miramar Naval Air Station, in addition to equipment including aircraft carriers, F-14 Tomcats, and F-5 Tigers. That equipment likely would have cost well over the film’s $15 million budget to access without such a favorable deal.
So, I suppose Tom Cruise is, in an ancillary way, a Pentagon asset. One who just acts the role of a pilot, Pete “Maverick” Mitchell. Not like, say, real Navy pilots.
So, you can imagine the social media reactions, as catalogued by the U.K. Daily Mail.
One: “Is this a joke?”
Another: “Even though it’s a civilian award, the guy hasn’t even won an Academy Award, which is specifically awarded to those in the movie industry.”
Another, who had a much more legitimate grievance: “My son was awarded the meritorious service medal this weekend. They mailed it to him! Tom Cruise gets it presented to him by [Secretary of the Navy] in person,” she wrote.
“My son’s award is rare because he was an E6, which this award usually goes to high ranking officers. I’m sad there isn’t more recognition.”
Look, I’m very happy people want to join the Navy because of “Top Gun” and “Top Gun: Maverick.” (Apparently, they haven’t been inspired by those films to see the aforementioned “A Few Good Men,” which doesn’t paint a picture of unalloyed pleasantness in the Navy or Marine Corps, but never mind.)
Far be it from me to disparage the efforts of Cruise and the filmmakers to get people to enlist. Good for him, in fact — especially for making a blockbuster that isn’t America-hating woke-revisionist pap in the 2020s.
However, what does it say about the state of our military under this administration that its most effective recruiter is a 62-year-old man who pretends to be a pilot on film?
Truth and Accuracy
We are committed to truth and accuracy in all of our journalism. Read our editorial standards.
Advertise with The Western Journal and reach millions of highly engaged readers, while supporting our work. Advertise Today.
