The former Navy Chief of Staff (1993-1996), who did serve in combat in 1982, facilitated recognition for thousands of officers, non-commissioned officers, and sailors of the Navy Fleet who did not see direct combat. The measure, adopted during Carlos Saúl Menem's first administration, doubled the number of veterans and sparked a historic controversy over the legitimacy of the title that still persists 43 years after the war. The Armed Forces, the sole and ultimate authority on the issue, refuse to resolve it.

With the news of the death of Admiral (re) Enrique Molina Pico at the age of 87 , his figure returns to the center of one of the most sensitive controversies of the post-Malvinas War : the expansion of the registry of War Veterans (VGM) in the 1990s.

Molina Pico , a decorated military officer who actively participated in the 1982 conflict as commander of the missile destroyer ARA Hércules , assumed the position of Chief of the General Staff of the Navy in 1993 , during the first years of Carlos Saúl Menem's administration . It was during this period that the Navy promoted a reinterpretation of the recognition criteria established by law, which generated an unprecedented "inflation" in the veterans' payroll.

The Controversy over the Fleet's Participation in the War

The initial legal framework (Law 23.109 and Decree 509/88) reserved the status of Malvinas War Veterans (VGM) to those who had been stationed in the Malvinas Theater of Operations (TOM) or who had actually entered combat in the area of the South Atlantic Theater of Operations (TOAS) . However, during the Molina Pico administration, the Navy expanded the recognition criteria to include personnel (officers, non-commissioned officers, and soldiers) who were embarked on the Sea Fleet and on logistics vessels that had to operate in the TOAS area, but who did not participate in any specific action, nor were they under fire or in direct combat, after the sinking of the ARA General Belgrano Cruiser. Since, for fear of being encountered by British submarines, they moved away to safe areas thousands of kilometers from where the fighting was taking place.

The consequence was immediate: the number of Malvinas Veterans recognized by the State, which in 1983 was around 12,500, doubled during the Menem administration, far exceeding 20,000 by the end of the decade.

The measure was interpreted by a large part of the direct combatants, now ex-combatants (mainly from the Army and Air Force, and units that were actually under fire from the British enemy) as an attempt to dilute the significance of the high rank that honors equally the living and the dead, who effectively wielded the Arms of the Nation. It was also interpreted as a form of patronage by granting titles and lifetime pensions and other social benefits to members of the Navy who in no way played a primary or secondary role in the conflict . Proof of this is that even cadre personnel who in 1982 were stationed in Puerto Belgrano or at the Mar del Plata Naval Station were also affected by this arbitrary and convoluted measure by Molina Pico .

Combatants vs. Recognized

From the Navy, the argument focused on acknowledging the risk exposure of all personnel in the conflict zone. They maintained that the Navy's ships fulfilled vital strategic and logistical functions and were constantly at potential risk. However, the distinction between having been in the area and having fought remains a point of contention, further dividing the various VGM groups with each passing day.

The debate continued for several years. In the early 2000s, mechanisms were implemented ( such as the reform of the National Commission of Veterans by Decree 694/01 ) to attempt to audit and centralize the registry, although most of the recognitions from the Molina Pico and Menem eras remained in effect.

Molina Pico's career, which included his key role in the Gulf War (Operation Desert Storm) and his time at the Argentine Embassy in Washington, is inextricably linked to this decision, which redefined and generated more discontent than a clear and responsible response from the Armed Forces regarding who deserves the "Malvinas War Veteran" award in Argentina. Thus, more than four decades after his disappearance, the irresponsible actions of the last military dictatorship continue to cause more than just headaches for Argentine society.