06-13-2012, 06:42
|
#1
|
Quiet Professional
Join Date: Apr 2008
Location: 18 yrs upstate NY, 30 yrs South Florida, 20 yrs Conch Republic, now chasing G-Kids in NOVA & UK
Posts: 11,901
|
Congratulations..
Congratulations to SSG Calkins and CWO Myers..
Quote:
2 Green Berets Receive Distinguished Service Cross
Jun 13, 2012
Fayetteville (N.C.) Observer| by Drew Brooks
Battling insurgents hiding in fortified bunkers, Staff Sgt. Corey Calkins led a group of Afghan soldiers over a road littered with bombs and into a hail of gunfire.
A month later, Chief Warrant Officer 2 Jason Myers ran up and down a trapped convoy amid a barrage of enemy fire to find a way to escape an ambush.
Both soldiers, members of the 3rd Special Forces Group, received the nation's second-highest military award for valor -- the Distinguished Service Cross -- at a ceremony Tuesday on Fort Bragg.
Adm. William McRaven, the head of Special Operations Command in Tampa, Fla., pinned the medals on the Green Berets, who were honored for putting their lives on the line in Afghanistan in early 2010.
"Every soldier that steps onto the battlefield today hopes and prays he can live up to the expectations of his country," McRaven said.
He said Myers and Calkins exceeded those expectations and cemented their place among legendary heroes of the Green Berets.
"It is an absolutely normal impulse to move away from danger," McRaven said. "And yet every man who wears the Green Beret moves toward the sound of danger."
Myers "did what no normal man would do," McRaven said. Calkins was "so heroic, so inspiring, that he also stands with the giants of the Special Forces regiment."
On Feb. 18, 2010, Calkins was serving as the sole combat adviser to a group of 69 Afghan soldiers in Marjah in Helmand province when they came under attack by enemy forces. Calkins inspired his men, who had originally refused to cross a road laden with bombs, to overrun the enemy positions and pursue the insurgents.
Calkins later continued his assault after a group of Marine explosive ordnance technicians were injured by a bomb blast, clearing the way for helicopters to evacuate two Americans who had been killed and another three who were seriously wounded.
The next month, on March 27, 2010, Myers took charge during an ambush in Paktika province that came near the end of a seven-day patrol across three districts and eight villages.
His convoy was traveling on a crude, winding, single-lane road carved into the side of a canyon when it came under attack by more than 100 enemy fighters. Myers left the safety of his armored vehicle to direct the Afghan National Police and help clear several disabled vehicles from the path.
As trees exploded in a hail of bullets and shrapnel tore into his hands and legs, Myers repeatedly ran between the vehicles during the 19 minutes that it took air support to arrive.
Both men were previously awarded the Silver Star, the third-highest award for valor, for their actions.
Despite their accolades, the men deflected their honor to their teammates.
Calkins is a member of Operational Detachment Alpha 3121. Myers is the assistant commander for Operational Detachment 3321.
"I only have my leadership to thank," Calkins said. "You just revert back to what you were trained to do. Anyone else would have performed to the same standard."
Myers said it was humbling to have his actions held up as an example by McRaven.
He said time seemed to slow during the ambush, and he thought the firefight lasted much longer than 19 minutes.
The families of both men traveled from out of state for the ceremony. Myers is from Lewisburg, Pa., and Calkins is from Midland, Mich.
The men, who received boxes of cigars from McRaven, are the first in the 3rd Special Forces Group to receive the Distinguished Service Cross.
The medal is second only to the Medal of Honor in prestige.
"It seems kind of strange that I'd be here," Myers said. "There's a lot of heroes in 3rd Group."
http://www.military.com/daily-news/2...tml?ESRC=eb.nl
|
__________________
Go raibh tú leathuair ar Neamh sula mbeadh a fhios ag an diabhal go bhfuil tú marbh
"May you be a half hour in heaven before the devil knows you’re dead"
|
JJ_BPK is offline
|
|
06-13-2012, 08:04
|
#2
|
Quiet Professional
Join Date: Jun 2007
Location: Hope Mills, NC
Posts: 2,759
|
Totally concur
Job well done men..congrats
__________________
Out of all the places I've been, this is one of'em....
|
glebo is offline
|
|
06-13-2012, 08:05
|
#3
|
Quiet Professional
Join Date: Feb 2007
Location: TN
Posts: 933
|
Well done. Congrats
Edited to add - This should be "Attention to Orders" section.
|
koz is offline
|
|
06-13-2012, 10:25
|
#4
|
Quiet Professional
Join Date: Mar 2009
Location: Arizona
Posts: 5,222
|
Most excellent!
|
PRB is offline
|
|
06-13-2012, 10:26
|
#5
|
Quiet Professional
Join Date: Jan 2004
Location: Phoenix, AZ
Posts: 20,929
|
Well done gent's!
__________________
"The Spartans do not ask how many are the enemy, but where they are."
|
Team Sergeant is offline
|
|
06-13-2012, 10:58
|
#6
|
Guerrilla
Join Date: Dec 2006
Location: New York
Posts: 158
|
video
Here is a video interview with SSG Calkins: http://bcove.me/ixdlkcqc
|
Geenie is offline
|
|
06-13-2012, 11:17
|
#7
|
Quiet Professional
Join Date: Jan 2005
Location: D.C./ Northern Virginia
Posts: 82
|
Outstanding. Not surprised, though. Fortunately, our Regiment is full of such men.
__________________
"I do not know what is true. I do not know the meaning of the universe. But in the midst of doubt, in the collapse of creeds, there is one thing I do not doubt...and that is that the faith is true and adorable which leads a soldier to throw away his life in obedience to a blindly accepted duty, in a cause he little understands, in a plan of campaign of which he has little notion, under tactics of which he does not see the use."
Oliver Wendell Holmes, Jr.
|
Blueboy is offline
|
|
06-13-2012, 15:39
|
#8
|
Quiet Professional
Join Date: Jun 2007
Location: Sneaking back and forth across the Border
Posts: 6,628
|
Outstanding..... Well done.....
|
SF_BHT is offline
|
|
06-13-2012, 16:18
|
#9
|
Area Commander
Join Date: Apr 2011
Location: Midwest
Posts: 2,811
|
Well deserved honors!
__________________
The only reason some people get lost in thought is because it's unfamiliar territory.
|
cbtengr is offline
|
|
06-13-2012, 16:36
|
#10
|
Area Commander
Join Date: Jan 2004
Location: Midwest
Posts: 7,107
|
Well done Gentlemen!
__________________
My Heroes wear camouflage.
|
Gypsy is offline
|
|
06-13-2012, 16:58
|
#11
|
Quiet Professional
Join Date: Aug 2007
Location: Philadelphia,Pa.
Posts: 1,475
|
D S C:
A job well done . Congratulations. Tom Kelly
__________________
EVERYBODY WANTS TO GO TO HEAVEN: BUT, NOBODY WANTS TO DIE.
|
tom kelly is offline
|
|
06-13-2012, 17:24
|
#12
|
RIP Quiet Professional
Join Date: Jun 2009
Location: The Ozarks
Posts: 10,072
|
Congrats!
__________________
"There you go, again." Ronald Reagan
|
Dusty is offline
|
|
06-13-2012, 21:03
|
#13
|
Quiet Professional
Join Date: Feb 2006
Location: Asscrackistan
Posts: 4,289
|
Well done Gentlemen!!!
__________________
"Berg Heil"
History teaches that when you become indifferent and lose the will to fight someone who has the will to fight will take over."
COLONEL BULL SIMONS
Intelligence failures are failures of command [just] as operations failures are command failures.”
|
MtnGoat is offline
|
|
06-14-2012, 23:22
|
#14
|
Quiet Professional
Join Date: Mar 2008
Location: Der Vaterland
Posts: 2,311
|
Well Done !!
Congratulations to SSG Calkins, CW2 Myers, and the 3rd SFG(A).
__________________
v/r
Stras
der Kriegskind SFA LXV
De Oppresso Liber
|
Stras is offline
|
|
06-14-2012, 23:28
|
#15
|
Area Commander
Join Date: Jan 2005
Location: JBLM
Posts: 1,246
|
Well done gents!
Funny thing is VG, I've seen Corey running around the Bn and he never came off as anything more than a professional and humble man.
It's an honor to support such men.
__________________
http://teamrwb.com/
"Let the blood of the infantry flow through your veins,or the blood of the infantry will be on your hands."
- GEN John A. Wickham, Jr. speaking on the responsibilities of MI soldiers.
|
jbour13 is offline
|
|
Currently Active Users Viewing This Thread: 1 (0 members and 1 guests)
|
|
Posting Rules
|
You may not post new threads
You may not post replies
You may not post attachments
You may not edit your posts
HTML code is Off
|
|
|
All times are GMT -6. The time now is 15:30.
|
|
|