( CNN ) -- My kids -- 4 , 6 and 8 -- love the movie `` Wreck It Ralph . '' It 's about a video game character that desperately wants to win a medal . Meanwhile , at the Pentagon , Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel is reviewing a new policy that awards medals to drone operators who might think they 're in a video game . Predatory drones have changed the art of war . As to the question of whether it 's been a change for the good or the bad , that coin is still in the air . This much we know : This is not your father 's brand of warfare . That was more up-close and personal . When your dad served in Vietnam -- let alone , when your grandfather fought in World War II -- they took the fight to the enemy , and they had to step into the theater of war to do it . Soldiers exchanged gunfire . Sometimes , they even engaged in hand-to-hand combat . Fighter pilots were shot down . Those captured by the enemy became prisoners of war . And in recognition of such acts of valor , the military gives out medals -- the Purple Heart , Bronze Star , Silver Star and Medal of Honor . That 's how it has always worked . In defense of your country , you put yourself at risk of death or at least great personal harm . And your country shows its gratitude by giving you a medal . When you receive this kind of commendation , you are assured that your service has been exemplary and your sacrifice significant . Now things are different . Oh , the military still awards plenty of the traditional medals -- the old school way . Yet under a policy approved by Hagel 's predecessor , Leon Panetta , on his way out the door , military officials are also preparing to offer something called `` The Distinguished Warfare Medal . '' It recognizes `` extraordinary direct impacts on combat operations . '' But -- and here 's the important part -- it has no `` geographic limitation . '' So if you kill an insurgent in Afghanistan , you do n't really have to be physically present in Afghanistan . You do n't even have to be in that part of the world . You can be sipping coffee and checking your e-mail thousands of miles away in a control room in Virginia . You press a few buttons and eliminate a few people . Then , at the end of your shift , you wrap up and drive to your kid 's soccer game . It 's all in a day 's work . When it was announced that drone operators would now be eligible for medals , lawmakers and veterans groups raised concerns that the medal would eclipse those typically given for bravery in battle . They do n't want the medal scrapped . They just want it downgraded and put in its proper place in the pecking order . Those objections are fair . But concerns like that are not likely to resonate with most Americans who -- let 's face it -- ca n't tell one medal from another . Critics are right to be angry . But they 're upset about the wrong thing . These special medals are really a bad idea , and the reasons for that have less to do with the pecking order among medals and more to do with the detached way that drone operators carry out their remote-control missions . First , these high-tech cowboys are never in harm 's way . You simply ca n't compare what they do from behind a desk with what others do on the battlefield . Second , the whole concept is morbid . We know that innocent civilians have died in drone strikes in Pakistan . Sooner or later , the criteria for this medal may become : `` How many kills do you have ? '' The more kills , the more likely you are to get a medal . Lastly , handing out rewards and incentives for drone strikes only reinforces the fantasy of war as a video game , where you do well when you advance . We have enough of that already among a young generation of soldiers that grew up playing video games . We should n't encourage more of it . Pentagon officials are expected , in the next month , to decide the fate of the medal for drone operators . Heading up the review will be Joint Chiefs Chairman Gen. Martin Dempsey . He could make the award less prestigious , raise the qualifications , do away with it or just leave things the way they are . Here 's the way forward . Dempsey should n't bother downgrading the medal , so the other medals do n't get jealous . He should just recommend that it be scrapped altogether . While there are those who want to turn war into a video game , someone needs to have the decency to pull the plug . The opinions expressed in this commentary are solely those of Ruben Navarrette .
A policy is under review that would make it feasible to award medals to drone operators . Ruben Navarrette : Pentagon officials should scrap this medal altogether . He says unlike other medals , drone operators are never in harm 's way . Navarrette : Handing out award for drone strikes reinforces fantasy of war as a video game .