Bouchard Lying about Service Awards?

Unearned awards on sheriff's uniform?

Copyright 2006 by the Mich­i­gan Caucus.

Ahhh, there's something about a uniform. No doubt about it.

Just look at Oakland County Sheriff Michael Bouchard's snappy brown uniform. Yeah, its got every ac­ces­sory a top law en­force­ment of­fi­cer needs to look real, including (after the jump):

• Four gold five-pointed stars in each collar,
• Shoulder patches,
• A six-pointed gold star sheriff's badge,
• A gold aiguillette or maybe a fourragère (we can't pronounce it either, but its a braided rope or cord used for tying-up horses, yeah, horses) on the right solder,
• A gold pen,
• An Interpersonal Violence and Abuse Awareness/Prevention Purple Ribbon,
• A USA flag lapel pin (on the left shirt pocket flap),
• A clip-on tie (yeah, its a clip-on),
• A couple of winged medalions (one with a caduceus),
• A name badge(!),
• A gold tie clip, and
• A field of service awards on the right chest ...

Yeah, a field of service awards for all the special things the sheriff's done ...

Like this service award, our favorite (its on the left-handed side of the field, about midway down). A ribbon with a gold, five pointed star (for second and subsequent awards) in the center of a red-brown field and a gold border. Its also known as the "Special Deputy of the Year Award." Huh? Yeah, look again at the sheriff's uniform, there it is, the Special D e p u t y  of the Year Award. We don't get it; why would the sheriff wear a service award for deputies? Is Mike maybe his own "special" deputy?

Here's another of our favorites, the "Sheriff's Distinguished Unit Citation." Heck, it sounds really impressive - we never knew the sheriff had a distinguished unit. We didn't even know he even had a unit. We just thought of him as the "sheriff." But maybe our way of thinking is all wrong. Still, try as we might we can't figure out how the sheriff can give himself a Sheriff's Distinguished Unit Citation just like we can't figure out how he gave himself the Special Deputy of the Year Award.

For a guide to all the Oakland County Sheriff's service awards and decorations click here. Take a look, there's a few more service awards on Bouchard's uniform we just can't figure out - maybe you can. Seriously. Take a look.

So, the Michigan Caucus has got to ask, all levity aside, is the sheriff is trying to stack a few "extra" awards into the field to make himself look a bit more, ah, prestigious? Is this all part of Mike's Field of Dreams or his Field of Bullshit?