Medic in Afghanistan Awarded Silver Star

This is an inspiring story that was sent to me by Dave Stieghan, Army historian at Fort Benning, Georgia:

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Associated Press

CAMP SALERNO, Afghanistan — A 19-year-old medic from Texas will become the first woman in Afghanistan and only the second woman since World War II to receive the Silver Star, the nation's third-highest medal for valor.

Army Spc. Monica Lin Brown saved the lives of fellow soldiers after a roadside bomb tore through a convoy of Humvees in the eastern Paktia province in April 2007, the military said.

After the explosion, which wounded five soldiers in her unit, Brown ran through insurgent gunfire and used her body to shield wounded comrades as mortars fell less than 100 yards away, the military said.

"I did not really think about anything except for getting the guys to a safer location and getting them taken care of and getting them out of there," Brown told The Associated Press on Saturday at a U.S. base in the eastern province of Khost.

Brown, of Lake Jackson, Texas, is scheduled to receive the Silver Star later this month. She was part of a four-vehicle convoy patrolling near Jani Kheil in the eastern province of Paktia on April 25, 2007, when a bomb struck one of the Humvees.

"We stopped the convoy. I opened up my door and grabbed my aid bag," Brown said.

She started running toward the burning vehicle as insurgents opened fire. All five wounded soldiers had scrambled out.

"I assessed the patients to see how bad they were. We tried to move them to a safer location because we were still receiving incoming fire," Brown said.

Pentagon policy prohibits women from serving in frontline combat roles — in the infantry, armor or artillery, for example. But the nature of the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq, with no real front lines, has seen women soldiers take part in close-quarters combat more than previous conflicts.

Four Army nurses in World War II were the first women to receive the Silver Star, though three nurses serving in World War I were awarded the medal posthumously last year, according to the Army's Web site.

Brown, of the 4th Squadron, 73rd Cavalry Regiment, 4th Brigade Combat Team, said ammunition going off inside the burning Humvee was sending shrapnel in all directions. She said they were sitting in a dangerous spot.

"So we dragged them for 100 or 200 meters, got them away from the Humvee a little bit," she said. "I was in a kind of a robot-mode, did not think about much but getting the guys taken care of."

For Brown, who knew all five wounded soldiers, it became a race to get them all to a safer location. Eventually, they moved the wounded some 500 yards away, treated them on site before putting them on a helicopter for evacuation.

"I did not really have time to be scared," Brown said. "Running back to the vehicle, I was nervous (since) I did not know how badly the guys were injured. That was scary."

The military said Brown's "bravery, unselfish actions and medical aid rendered under fire saved the lives of her comrades and represents the finest traditions of heroism in combat."

Sgt. Leigh Ann Hester, of Nashville, Tenn., received the Silver Star in 2005 for gallantry during an insurgent ambush on a convoy in Iraq. Two men from her unit, the 617th Military Police Company of Richmond, Ky., also received the Silver Star for their roles in the same action.

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Medics have always held a special place in the hearts of warriors. Soldiers always take care of their buddies, but none do it as well as the medics. God bless them all.

SFC Chuck Grist
www.AmericanRanger.blogspot.com

Sergeant Jeff Hunter: Citizen Marine Awarded Silver Star

Without the citizens who serve on active duty as soldiers, Marines, sailors or airmen, the United States could not wage war anywhere in the world. Those old distinctions between reservists/guardsmen and active duty service members have been permanently blurred in the war on terror.

Check out this story at Military.com about the extraordinary actions of Marine Sergeant Jeff Hunter, an American warrior who was recently awarded the military's third highest medal for valor.

SFC Chuck Grist
www.AmericanRanger.blogspot.com

A New American Hero

During my 2004 tour in Iraq, the Marines fought hard in Fallujah and other areas in western Iraq. We worked with some of these Marines and, in fact, a Marine officer signed out an M79 grenade launcher to me for use on our convoy missions in Baghdad as we protected our general.

On April 14, 2004, Marine Corporal Jason L. Dunham of Scio, New York, was leading a patrol near the Syrian border when he became engaged in a confrontation with an insurgent. During the struggle, Dunham threw himself on an enemy grenade to protect his comrades. The resulting explosion resulted in wounds which were ultimately fatal.

Yesterday, President Bush awarded a posthumous Medal of Honor to Dunham’s parents in Washington, D.C. Corporal Dunham is an example of the professional young warriors that are fighting for their country in Iraq, Afghanistan and elsewhere throughout the world. Americans are fortunate to have men like Dunham standing between them and those who would hurt them.

SFC Chuck Grist

The Fighting First Sergeant

I received a tentative date for my mobilization, but with my long experience in and out of the military, I believe that I will just wait for the orders to be published before I really believe it.

Tonight the President will speak on national television about his “New Way Forward”. Although it appears that he may use a troop increase to take control of Baghdad and Anbar province, none of it will work if the Iraqis don’t step up and take control of their own destiny. The sectarian violence must end; the militias must be tamed.

No matter what happens in the end, the soldiers, sailors, airmen and Marines who have served, fought, sacrificed and bled for Operation Iraqi Freedom can look back on their service with pride.

Here is another story of an extraordinary American:

ORANGE COUNTY CITIZEN-SOLDIER UNSUNG AT HOME
Special to the Orlando Sentinel
February 5, 2006

The concussion from the enemy rocket-propelled grenade explosion threw First Sgt. Jose Berrios to the ground. He was stunned and could not hear anything at first. Then, as his senses slowly returned, he heard the horrible sound of screaming.

This was the scene in central Baghdad in the summer of 2004 as elements of the new Iraqi Army, led by a team of Orlando Army Reservists, engaged in a bloody neighborhood by neighborhood battle with insurgents. Once again, a major action was under way that could not succeed without the unsung heroism of our citizen-soldiers.

Trying to see what was happening, Berrios realized that something was holding him down. He was surprised to discover that he was under the remains of a dead Iraqi soldier. Pushing the body away, he rose to a hellish world of death and destruction. Several Iraqi soldiers were dead and both Iraqis and Americans were wounded. The uninjured Americans and Iraqis were dragging the wounded to safety.

Razor-sharp pieces of steel shrapnel from the rocket-propelled grenade had opened a severe gash to his left leg that would eventually require more than 40 stitches to close. Still, Berrios pitched in to get the wounded soldiers to safety even as the battle continued. With communications destroyed by the attack, the only way to call for help was by cell phone. Rescue and medical assistance had to wait because American forces were involved in saving the crew of a downed helicopter only a block away.

Berrios and the other soldiers continued the firefight with insurgents. It was almost an hour before American Bradley Fighting Vehicles could make their way to the besieged position to escort the wounded to safety. Treated in Iraq for his wounds, Berrios recovered and returned to his team to complete his tour of duty.

When the call came early in 2004 for volunteers to join a Coalition Military Advisory Training Team (CMATT) in Iraq, Berrios stepped forward. As an Orange County consumer-fraud investigator and the father of five children, he had plenty of reasons to stay home. Still, Berrios was a first sergeant in the Army Reserve and he believes in leading by example. Some of his men were going, so he would go with them.

New Iraqi soldiers must first complete their basic training. Then they are assigned to their individual battalions and the real training begins. The Americans guide them as they learn small-unit tactics and prepare to conduct real-world missions. Then the Americans accompany the Iraqis as they participate in combat operations.

As the sergeant in charge of CMATT Team 11, Berrios led his soldiers as they trained members of the 4th Brigade of the Iraqi Intervention Force of the new Iraqi Army. He believes strongly in the success of their mission. He also feels that the American advisors are making steady progress, even if that progress seems slow.

When asked how he felt about the Iraqis, Berrios said, “They are brave and willing to die for their country.” He was confident when he served with them and believes they will ultimately be able to hold their own against the insurgents. Since his return from Iraq, Berrios has served in the Army Reserve with the 3rd Battalion, 347th Regiment in Orlando.

All Americans must remember the sacrifices that have been made by the National Guardsmen and reservists like Berrios who work among us each day. The Army also considers Berrios one of its most valuable assets. After awarding him a Bronze Star for his service and a Purple Heart for his wounds, the Army has given him the ultimate vote of confidence in his leadership ability.

In December he was selected for promotion to command sergeant major, the highest rank an enlisted soldier can hold. He continues to serve his community and his nation. Average Americans must begin to recognize that their neighborhoods are filled with unsung heroes like Jose Berrios.

SFC Chuck Grist

Standing Tall in Duty, Deed

I’d like to tell you about another friend of mine, Sergeant First Class Michael Harrington. The previous piece about the Purple Heart medal and Sal Cernigilia relates to this incident because both took place during the same battle. The following op-ed piece tells Harrington’s story. At the time he was a Staff Sergeant:

STANDING TALL IN DUTY, DEED
Daring rescue embodies the U.S. citizen soldier
Special to the Sentinel
April 16, 2005

Staff Sgt. Michael Harrington heard the strained voice of his wounded commander over the radio. It was late in the morning of Aug. 8, 2004, and at least a hundred Iraqi insurgents were laying siege to the only government building in Baghdad’s Sadr City – the DAC, or District Advisory Council. Small-arms fire, rocket-propelled grenades and mortars were taking a toll on the defenders. Several American advisers were wounded and at least two of the Iraqi soldiers defending the walled-in compound were dead. As the injured officer asked for a re-supply of ammunition, he warned that the compound was in danger of being over-run.

Harrington, a resident of Orlando, and Sgt. 1st Class Charles Welsh of Dunedin were advisers at the DAC. They had just started a three-day R & R a few kilometers away, but when they knew their comrades were in trouble, the R & R was over. The two sergeants quickly organized a convoy of five vehicles filled with ammunition, food and water. Harrington was the only American permitted to accompany the 17 Iraqi soldiers as the convoy headed toward the Sadr City battle.

Radical Shiite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr and his Mahdi Militia were then, and still are, the force to be reckoned with in Sadr City. The area is named for al Sadr’s father and is home to some 2 million Iraqis. On this day, the intent of the Mahdi Militia was to destroy the DAC and its defenders. During the first hours of the relentless assault, the American and Iraqi soldiers had expended 40,000 rounds of ammunition. The desperate situation was clear as the men resorted to scraping loose bullets off the ground to fill the magazines of their weapons.

The convoy left Baghdad’s Camp Cuervo but was ambushed a short distance away. The soldiers pushed the vehicles through the enemy attack with only minor damage and two wounds to Iraqi soldiers. They arrived at Forward Operating Base Ironhorse and Harrington asked for an armed escort to the DAC. Unfortunately, with other units also engaged in operations, no escort was available. Time was also an enemy now, so Harrington and the convoy moved out.

Just before entering Sadr City, they were ambushed again. Rocket-propelled grenades skidded across the pavement in front of them, small-arms fire shattered windows in some of the vehicles and more Iraqi soldiers were wounded. During this attack, Harrington credited one of the Iraqis with saving his life when the man drove his vehicle between the enemy and the American.

With even more damage and additional casualties, Harrington pressed the convoy on, reaching the gate of the DAC compound under a withering fusillade of small-arms fire. After the vehicles were safely inside, Harrington and the Iraqis ran to the only building in the compound. Debris and small rocks bounced off their backs as bullets and mortars hit the ground nearby. Ammunition was quickly distributed and the battle continued.

The siege of the DAC continued for several days, but the American and Iraqi defenders ensured that the 6-foot walls of the compound were never breached. Sgt. Welsh returned the day after Harrington and, although both men had to kill some of the insurgents during the battle, they echoed the sentiments of warriors throughout history. “It was them or us,” they said.

The American defenders of the DAC were all awarded Bronze Stars for their service as advisers to the Iraqi Army. Harrington and Welsh are experienced Army infantrymen who also earned the coveted Combat Infantryman’s Badge on that August day. They and others from their Orlando Army Reserve unit, the 3rd Battalion, 347th Regiment, have trained and fought with many of the new Iraqi soldiers. Like other Reservists and National Guardsmen, they are proud of their part in the war on terror.

As the Army Reserve celebrates its 97th birthday in April, it is important to remember that this war could not be fought, and will not be won, without the citizen soldier.

SFC Chuck Grist

The Young Marine and the Old Cop

Since returning from Iraq in October, 2004, I have met many other Iraq war veterans as I worked the streets of Central Florida as a police officer. The following op-ed article recalls one of those encounters:

THE YOUNG MARINE AND THE OLD COP
Special to the Orlando Sentinel
October 26, 2005

The young Marine, in his dress-blue uniform, sat in the passenger seat of the car. He was visibly upset and his new wife, in a formal dress, stood helplessly nearby. I was the cop, called to the hotel parking lot at 3 a.m. for a disturbance. Now that I had found it, I had to fix it.

Walking up to the Marine, I glanced at his uniform and immediately recognized the Global War on Terrorism Expeditionary Medal. This meant he had been overseas in the war on terror, probably to either Iraq or Afghanistan. He had been drinking at his wedding reception and his wife said he wouldn’t get out of the car.

I asked him where he had been overseas and, staring straight ahead, he said, “Fallujah,” a major battleground for Marines in Iraq. When I asked him how long ago, he said he had only been back for a couple of months.

Then he started to cry.

I knelt down next to the car and told him that I was an Army sergeant and that I had also been in Iraq, stationed in Baghdad. He suddenly looked at me with a look of “recognition”, that unique way that one war veteran looks at another. Through wet eyes he said that “they”, meaning the insurgents, had killed his friends. It was clear now that the problem was post-traumatic stress.

As I put my hand on the shoulder of this strapping young Marine, I told him that I knew how he felt, and I did. When I was his age, I was returning from Vietnam with similar memories. I told him that it had been 34 years since I returned from that war and I can still see the faces of my friends who died there. After my tour in Iraq, I have new faces to add to the old memories.

After he calmed down a little, he agreed to let me help him to his room. I asked him if he was still on active duty, and he said he was on leave but planned to spend his whole life in the Marines. I smiled to myself. He was a spiritually “wounded” warrior, but he was still a warrior.

As we reached the hotel room, I looked at him and shook his hand. I told him that he had lost a great deal in Iraq, but he had also been given a great gift. He asked me what I meant.

I explained to him that he had been given a chance to teach other Marines the warrior skills he had learned in combat. Now that he is an experienced infantryman, he not only has the opportunity, but the obligation, to pass his knowledge on to new Marines. This would be the best way for him to honor his fallen comrades. He promised that he would do so.

Then he began to cry again. I put my arm around him as a father would for a son. I did feel his pain and briefly my own pain returned, giving me a lump in my throat. What a sight we must have been, the old cop embracing the young Marine.

At one point the young man said, “They just don’t understand.” He was talking about the rest of the world – the non-warriors – those for whom we carry the sword. I told him that, no, most do not understand and never will. That is why we take care of each other, just as we did in war.

Then the new husband joined his bride in their room.

I walked outside into a hot summer night and returned to my job on the street.

It was time for a cup of coffee.

SFC Chuck Grist

Purple Heart Medal for "Wounds" not "Injuries"

On a hot August night in 2004, Baghdad’s Green Zone was attacked. A large number of mortars and rockets hit the four-square-mile zone in a display of aggression fomented by Muqtada al Sadr and his Mahdi Army.

The following day, and only a couple of miles away from us across the Tigris River, a group of Army Reservists, friends of mine from my Orlando unit, were defending a small government compound in Sadr City. During this battle, Staff Sergeant Salvatore Cerniglia was terribly wounded.

After I returned home, a brief controversy erupted when some young Marines were forced to return Purple Heart medals because they had received them for non-combat-related injuries instead of actual wounds from enemy action. One of these young men was run over in his foxhole while he was sleeping. Remembering Sal’s sacrifice, I wrote the following op-ed piece, published in the Orlando Sentinel on February 13, 2005:


PURPLE HEART MEDAL IS FOR ‘WOUNDS’ NOT ‘INJURIES’

The two Iraqi soldiers stood in the heat of Baghdad’s Sadr City last August without their helmets. Staff Sgt. Salvatore Cerniglia, one of the Army Reserve advisers to the 4th Battalion of the Iraqi Army, looked at them sternly. “Put your helmets on,” he ordered. Then he turned, just in time to see a rocket-propelled grenade flying toward his fighting position.

Cerniglia, who lives in Palm Harbor, felt his life become like a slow-motion movie. The enemy RPG exploded above him, and his body crumpled backward with his left leg bent in an unnatural direction. His field of vision changed to a curtain of red. Shaking his head, Cerniglia could see only the red, which he described as like a “filter” over his eyes. He couldn’t hear anything, and he couldn’t move his arms or legs. Slowly, the red faded and the bright colors of the world returned. As his hearing came back, so did the sounds of the battle that surrounded him.

Then the pain started, and he felt a hot burning on his chest, like a “branding iron” he said later. A fist-size piece of shrapnel was imbedded in the armor plate of his protective vest. There was no doubt his body armor had saved his life. He also had more serious wounds to his left arm and left leg. The two Iraqi soldiers had not been as lucky. One died when a piece of shrapnel struck his unprotected head. The other died from massive neck wounds.

Salvatore Cerniglia, “Sal” to his friends and fellow soldiers, came to the Army to make a difference. A native of New York City, he served as a captain in the Air Force many years ago. He returned to the military as an infantryman. Now, at the age of 54, he is looking at a military retirement forced upon him because of his wounds. A self-employed insurance adjuster in civilian life, Sal still considers himself lucky. At first he was told that he would probably lose his leg, but after five operations and a lot of physical therapy, that seems less likely now.

Recently, in ceremonies in Orlando, Cerniglia was awarded the Combat Infantryman Badge, the Bronze Star Medal and the Purple Heart Medal. The Purple Heart was for wounds he received while engaged in combat with a hostile force.

In contrast, it was recently announced that several young Marines, who had been awarded Purple Hearts for injuries received in Iraq, were having their medals revoked. Their injuries resulted from accidents that were not related to combat with the enemy. One of these young Marines was run over by a tank while he was sleeping in his foxhole.

Unfortunately, accidental deaths and injuries are unavoidable in the fast-moving clouds of war. These Marines, who surely served with honor and distinction, have suffered terribly because of their injuries. Still, the regulation is clear. Those who sustain injuries related to “accidents, to include explosive, aircraft, vehicular and other accidental wounding not related to or caused by enemy action” are not eligible for the Purple Heart. It is unfortunate that the officers in the Marine Corps who approved the awards in the first place made such an inexcusable mistake.

It may be embarrassing to the service members involved, but this special award, first created by George Washington during the Revolutionary War for a meritorious act, has a tradition that must be preserved. For generations, the Purple Heart has been a warrior’s medal for a warrior’s wounds sustained in mortal combat with an enemy force. The priceless value of this unique medal is in the sacrifice it takes to earn it. The enemy RPG forever changed Cernigila’s life and, while the young Marines should be honored for their service, combat-wounded warriors like Sal are the ones who have earned the Purple Heart.

SFC Chuck Grist