Go Back   Professional Soldiers ® > Hall of Heroes > Attention to Orders

Reply
 
Thread Tools Display Modes
Old 04-18-2008, 11:43   #1
Dan
Administrators
 
Dan's Avatar
 
Join Date: Feb 2004
Location: Fayetteville, NC
Posts: 2,263
Distinguished Service Cross for valor in Afghanistan

The Distinguished Service Cross for valor in Afghanistan will be awarded to MSG O’Connor in two weeks.

There will also be a special in this Sunday's "60 Minutes" airing at 7PM EST.

Quote:
Green Berets Recount Deadly Taliban Ambush
http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2008/...n4026734.shtml

(CBS) For a defeated enemy, the Taliban show lots of life. U.S. Army Special Forces say they were shocked by the disciplined military tactics used by hundreds of Taliban fighters who ambushed them near Kandahar, Afghanistan, in their first account of the unreported battle.

The Green Berets recount their traumatic experience of fighting and escaping a much larger force that had surrounded them for two days, resulting in their unit becoming the most decorated Special Forces team in any single battle in Afghanistan.

Lara Logan's report will be broadcast on 60 Minutes this Sunday, April 20, at 7 p.m. ET/PT.

The battle began at sundown June 23, 2006, when nine Green Berets, plus eight American and 48 Afghan soldiers were ambushed in a small village 12 miles outside Kandahar. They were searching for a Taliban commander. "It’s like all hell breaks loose," recalls U.S. Army Special Forces Maj. Shef Ford. "The enemy is firing from all directions at us….Soldiers are trying to identify the positions and return fire. They had completely surrounded us and were firing at us with multiple systems," says Ford.

It wasn’t the usual Taliban hit-and-run tactics encountered before. "We had not seen this, this disciplined execution of infantry tactics," says U.S. Army Special Forces Sgt. Brendan O’Connor. Another bad sign was falling mortar rounds, says Ford. "We also started taking mortar fire into the patrol base, which also demonstrated that there was somebody who knew about the weapons systems and how to operate it," Ford tells Logan.

The battle raged for two days and nights, with the outmanned force driving back Taliban attacks and U.S. aircraft periodically attacking enemy positions. There were many heroes that day whose courage prevented the unit from being overrun. One of them was U.S. Army Special Forces Sgt. 1st Class Abram Hernandez, who climbed a ladder to fire at advancing enemy soldiers trying to capture two wounded U.S. troops and their translator. "Seeing Hernandez propped up at that ridiculous angle was absolutely inspiring," says O’Connor. "Tracer rounds were…whizzing right by our heads. I was [amazed by Hernandez]."

Then O’Connor - shucking his battle armor to lower his profile - slowly crawled toward the wounded men while U.S. Army Special Forces Master Sgt. Thom Maholic warded off another enemy team threatening the rescue by firing from a rooftop. Maholic’s efforts saved the unit but resulted in him taking a bullet in the head. "He died in my arms," says Hernandez.

The two wounded men were rescued; but despite being carried back to safety by O’Connor, U.S. Army Staff Sgt. Joe Fuerst died of his wounds.

Unable to find reinforcements to come to their rescue, the surrounded soldiers planned an ingenious nighttime escape. They radioed the support aircraft above them to beam an infrared light invisible to the naked eye on a path back to their patrol base. The Green Berets, using their night-vision glasses, could see the beam and led their men to safety, while the aircraft attacked anything moving beyond the infrared beam.

Ford’s unit and their supporting aircraft killed an estimated 120 Taliban fighters during the battle. Maholic was posthumously awarded the Silver Star for saving his unit and the Special Forces firebase near Kandahar was renamed after him.

Later this month, O’Connor will become only the second American to receive the Distinguished Service Cross for valor in Afghanistan. The entire unit was honored at a ceremony at Ft. Bragg late last year, making them the most decorated Special Forces team in any one battle of the Afghan war.

The battle indicates that the war with the Taliban in Afghanistan is far from over. "They’ve hid and they’ve trained," says Ford. "The Taliban want to take Afghanistan back…to reinstall their government, their system of life," he tells Logan.
Dan is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 04-18-2008, 12:41   #2
Roguish Lawyer
Consigliere
 
Roguish Lawyer's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jan 2004
Location: Free Pineland (at last)
Posts: 8,765
Well done, men! If anyone knows how I can reach these guys, please send a PM. I want to send the team something.
Roguish Lawyer is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 04-18-2008, 12:52   #3
SF_BHT
Quiet Professional
 
SF_BHT's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jun 2007
Location: Sneaking back and forth across the Border
Posts: 6,627
Outstanding They are all a credit to the force, their Family's and the Nation.
SF_BHT is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 04-18-2008, 14:12   #4
The Reaper
Quiet Professional
 
The Reaper's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jan 2004
Location: Free Pineland
Posts: 24,779
Quote:
Originally Posted by Roguish Lawyer View Post
Well done, men! If anyone knows how I can reach these guys, please send a PM. I want to send the team something.

Counsel:

That is not necessary, but I am sure they appreciate the sentiment.

Thank you.

TR
__________________
"It is not the critic who counts; not the man who points out how the strong man stumbles, or where the doer of deeds could have done them better. The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood; who strives valiantly; who errs, who comes short again and again, because there is no effort without error and shortcoming; but who does actually strive to do the deeds; who knows great enthusiasms, the great devotions; who spends himself in a worthy cause; who at the best knows in the end the triumph of high achievement, and who at the worst, if he fails, at least fails while daring greatly, so that his place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who neither know victory nor defeat." - President Theodore Roosevelt, 1910

De Oppresso Liber 01/20/2025
The Reaper is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 04-18-2008, 14:20   #5
FMF DOC
Guerrilla
 
FMF DOC's Avatar
 
Join Date: Feb 2008
Location: PA
Posts: 419
Job Well Done.... True fighting men
__________________
Sometimes you must do dark things to get to the light. "unknown"
FMF DOC is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 04-18-2008, 14:34   #6
Razor
Quiet Professional
 
Razor's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jan 2004
Location: Colorado Springs
Posts: 4,509
Quote:
Later this month, O’Connor will become only the second American to receive the Distinguished Service Cross for valor in Afghanistan.
And the first? MAJ Mark Mitchell, 5th SFG(A). So of the 10 DSCs awarded between OIF and OEF, 40% have gone to SF men.
Razor is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 04-18-2008, 15:58   #7
JumpinJoe1010
Auxiliary
 
Join Date: Apr 2008
Location: Onalaska, Texas
Posts: 87
Job well done gentlemen.
JumpinJoe1010 is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 04-18-2008, 16:18   #8
Dan
Administrators
 
Dan's Avatar
 
Join Date: Feb 2004
Location: Fayetteville, NC
Posts: 2,263
Maj. Sheffield Ford and Master Sgt. Brendan O'Connor listen to a question during an interview with Lara Logan, a CBS news reporter, at the John F. Kennedy Special Warfare Museum in Fort Bragg, N.C., January 23. A 60 Minutes story on Operation Kaika, the 2006 operation in Afghanistan that resulted in the most decorated Special Forces Operational Detachment-Alpha in the war on terror, will air April 20 at 7 p.m. ET/PT. (Photo by Sgt. Daniel Love, USASOC News Service)
Attached Images
File Type: jpg interview.jpg (357.6 KB, 205 views)
Dan is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 04-18-2008, 17:27   #9
Jack Moroney (RIP)
Quiet Professional
 
Jack Moroney (RIP)'s Avatar
 
Join Date: Mar 2004
Location: Vermont
Posts: 3,093
Good job!!
__________________
Wenn einer von uns fallen sollt, der Andere steht für zwei.
Jack Moroney (RIP) is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 04-18-2008, 19:01   #10
Gypsy
Area Commander
 
Gypsy's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jan 2004
Location: Midwest
Posts: 7,107
Incredible Men in incredible circumstances. Well done. Master Sgt. Thom Maholic Rest in Peace.
__________________
My Heroes wear camouflage.
Gypsy is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 04-19-2008, 08:49   #11
jbour13
Area Commander
 
jbour13's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jan 2005
Location: JBLM
Posts: 1,246
Well deserved and may your comrades from that battle continue rest in peace.
__________________
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   Reply With Quote
Old 04-19-2008, 15:29   #12
echoes
Area Commander
 
echoes's Avatar
 
Join Date: Feb 2004
Location: OK. Thanking Our Brave Soldiers
Posts: 3,614
MSG O’Connor,

Thank You Sir, for Your service, bravery, and sacrifice.

May all of the fallen, rest-in-peace.

Holly
echoes is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 04-19-2008, 15:49   #13
Peregrino
Quiet Professional
 
Peregrino's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jun 2004
Location: Occupied Pineland
Posts: 4,701
Some great guys. I am honored to know a couple of them personally. I will continue to give thanks that we have such men and pray for the day when their sacrifices won't be necessary any more.
__________________
A nation can survive its fools, and even the ambitious. But it cannot survive treason from within. An enemy at the gates is less formidable, for he is known and carries his banner openly. But the traitor moves amongst those within the gate freely, his sly whispers rustling through all the alleys, heard in the very halls of government itself. For the traitor appears not a traitor; he speaks in accents familiar to his victims, and he wears their face and their arguments, he appeals to the baseness that lies deep in the hearts of all men. He rots the soul of a nation, he works secretly and unknown in the night to undermine the pillars of the city, he infects the body politic so that it can no longer resist. A murderer is less to fear.

~ Marcus Tullius Cicero (42B.C)
Peregrino is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 04-19-2008, 16:04   #14
vsvo
Area Commander
 
vsvo's Avatar
 
Join Date: Aug 2004
Location: No. VA, USA
Posts: 1,095
Great job gents!
vsvo is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 04-19-2008, 21:06   #15
djm
Asset
 
Join Date: May 2007
Location: Fayetteville
Posts: 1
MSG O'Connor DSC Presentation

Does anyone know where and when the presentation will take place?

Thanks.
djm is offline   Reply With Quote
Reply


Currently Active Users Viewing This Thread: 1 (0 members and 1 guests)
 
Thread Tools
Display Modes

Posting Rules
You may not post new threads
You may not post replies
You may not post attachments
You may not edit your posts

BB code is On
Smilies are On
[IMG] code is Off
HTML code is Off

Forum Jump



All times are GMT -6. The time now is 03:08.



Copyright 2004-2022 by Professional Soldiers ®
Site Designed, Maintained, & Hosted by Hilliker Technologies