Category: Real Soldiers

According to Fox News, Sergeant First Class Charles Martland whose discharge was ordered because he confronted a child-abusing Afghan police chief in 2011, has lost in his appeal process. The Army denies that reason has ended the 11-year veteran’s special forces career;

Gen. John F. Campbell, commander of U.S. forces in Afghanistan, said in a statement Tuesday that he is “absolutely confident that no such theater policy has ever existed here, and certainly, no such policy has existed throughout my tenure as commander.”

He said he expects “any suspicions of sexual abuse will be immediately reported to the chain of command,” and he has personally spoken with President Ashraf Ghani on the issue.

“I want to make absolutely clear that any sexual abuse or similar mistreatment of others, no matter the alleged perpetrator or victim, is completely unacceptable, and reprehensible,” he said.

The response from the Army’s Human Resources Command was handed to Fox News by Congressman Duncan Hunter’s office. The Congressman has asked the Secretary of Defense to step in and save the warrior’s career. But, you know, the Secretary of Defense hasn’t heard from his social justice warriors on the issue yet.

Thanks to MustangCryppie for the link.

Someone sent us a link to the Killeen Daily Herald about this fellow, Homero Garza who lives in the vicinity of Fort Hood, Texas. His story did sound too good to be true at first. He claims that he was in the Korean War and then went on to Vietnam. That he had two Silver Star Medals, two Bronze Star Medals, both with a “V” for valor, and ARCOM with a “V”.

So we ordered his FOIA and it all turns out to be true. I’m sure there’s some embellishment in the story he told to the reporter, but he’s too much of a real bad ass for me to disagree with him. But here are the citations of his awards. It looks like 1968 was a tough year for First Sergeant Garza;

It’s just refreshing to read about a real hero, especially from the Vietnam generation. It looks like CSM Garza retired the year before I joined, so I never had the pleasure. I wish I had.

Ex-Garbage Gun Shooter sends us the sad news of the passing of Paul Royle at the tender age of 101 years. He was an Australian survivor of “The Great Escape” from Stalag Luft III in what is now Poland, but in 1944 it was in the German Provence of Lower Silesia. He had been one of the 76 Kriegsgefangener, or “kriegies” as they called themselves who escaped through Tunnel Harry on March 25, 1944. Only 3 made it to freedom, Royle was not one of them. He did, however, survive the execution of 50 escapees which resulted as punishment for the escape. His partner in the escape, Flight Lieutenant Edgar Humphreys wasn’t so lucky.

Interviewed last year about his wartime experiences, Mr Royle said he had vivid memories of escaping into a snow-covered pine forest.

“It was very pleasant and all we saw was great heaps of snow and pine trees. There was snow everywhere, it was cold,” he said.

With another escapee, he walked through the night and hid in bushes but they were soon recaptured by the Nazis.

Royle had been captured by the Germans when he crash landed after being attacked by German aircraft while on a reconnaissance flight on May 17, 1940. He was liberated by British troops on May 2, 1945.

Royle’s passing leaves only one survivor of the escape still with us, 95-year-old Dick Churchill.

David sends us a link to Fox News which reports that Carlos Mullen, an Army veteran is being credited with saving the life of a six-year-old when the child had drowned in the pool at a resort where Mullen and his fiance were staying;

Carlos Mullen and his fiancée Christina Lamothe were on the third floor of Westgate Resort in Orlando when they heard screaming coming from the pool area. They say that people were calling out for a lifeguard, but there was no lifeguard in sight.

Mullen jumped into action, rushing to the pool to perform CPR on a 6-year-old boy who had just been pulled from the pool by his brothers.

Mullen credits his military training for his quick-thinking and for teaching him CPR.

Sergeant First Class Leigh Ann Hester, of the Army National Guard has returned from another combat deployment in the war against terror. If her name sounds familiar, its because she was the first woman to earn a Silver Star Medal since World War II back in 2005 for her valor in Iraq when the convoy in which she was driving was struck by an ambush and she was instrumental in driving off the surprise attack.

From her citation;

Sergeant Leigh A. Hester is cited for conspicuous gallantry in action against an armed enemy of the United States while engaged in military operations involving conflict with anti Iraq forces (AIF) as a team leader for Raven 42B, 617th Military Police Company, 503d Military Police Battalion (Airborne) stationed at Camp Liberty, Iraq on 20 March 2005, in support of Operation IRAQI FREEDOM. The team’s mission was to assist Raven 42 in searching the Eastern Convoy Route for improvised explosive devices (IEDs) and provide additional security to sustainment convoys traveling through their area of responsibility. While patrolling Alternate Supply Route (ASR) Detroit, Raven 42B was shadowing a sustainment convoy consisting of 30 third country national (TCN) semi-tractor trailers with a three vehicle squad size escort, call sign Stallion 33, traveling from LSA (logistics support area) Anaconda to CSC (convoy support center) Scania. The weather for this ASR patrol was 75 degrees and sunny with a 10 knot breeze from the southwest. While traveling on ASR Detroit approximately 50 AIF ambushed the convoy with heavy AK47 fire, RPK heavy machine gun fire, and rocket propelled grenades (RPGs) from the southwest side of the road at 1140 hours. The AIF were utilizing irrigation ditches and an orchard for the well planned complex attack. The AIF had cars combat parked along a road perpendicular to the ASR with all doors and trunks open. The AIF intent was to destroy the convoy, to inflict numerous casualties, and to kidnap several TCN drivers or U.S. Soldiers. The initial ambush disabled and set on fire the lead TCN vehicle, which effectively blocked the southbound lanes of ASR Detroit, stopping the convoy in the kill zone. The squad leader, Staff Sergeant Timothy Nein, directed the squad to move forward, traveling on the right shoulder and passing through the engagement area between the enemy and the convoy. Sergeant Hester directed her gunner to provide heavy volumes of MK 19 and M240B fires into the field where an overwhelming number of insurgents were executing a well coordinated ambush on the convoy. Raven 42 elements were outnumbered five to one. Staff Sergeant Nein ordered the squad to flank the insurgents on their right side. The squad continued to come under heavy machine gun fire and rocket propelled grenade fire when Sergeant Hester stopped her vehicle, the middle vehicle, at a flanking position enfilading the trench line and the orchard field where over a dozen insurgents were engaging the squad and convoy. She then directed her gunner to focus fires in the trench line and the orchard field. Sergeant Hester dismounted and moved to what was thought to be the non-contact side of the vehicle. She ordered her gunner to continue to fire on the orchard field as she and her driver engaged insurgents in the orchard field with small arms. Sergeant Hester began engaging the insurgents with her M203 in order to suppress the heavy AIF fire. Sergeant Hester followed Staff Sergeant Nein to the right side berm and threw two well placed fragmentation grenades into the trench eliminating the AIF threat. Sergeant Hester and Staff Sergeant Nein went over the berm into the trench and began clearing the trench with their M4s. Sergeant Hester engaged and eliminated three AIF to her front with her M4. They then made their way to the front trench and cleared that as well. After clearing the front trench cease fire was called and she began securing the ambush site. The final result of the ambush was 27 AIF KIA (killed in action), 6 AIF WIA (wounded in action), and one AIF captured.

The Tennessean reports that Hester is back on the job as a Franklin, TN police officer from an Afghanistan deployment. I’m sure the Taliban are relieved;

This week, Franklin police lowered the flag honoring active duty military members after Hester’s return from an 18-month deployment in Afghanistan — her third since 2004.

Franklin Police Chief Deborah Faulkner presented Hester with the flag, the release said.

“We’re family,” she said. “We are happy to have Officer Hester home safe, and so proud of her service, to our country and community.”

TSO sends us a link to the Washington Post which tells the story of Ranger School instructor Sergeant Timothy Spayd, who happens to have amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, better known as ALS or Lou Gehrig’s Disease.

Spayd is no typical instructor. A former active-duty sergeant, he was adopted two years ago by soldiers of the 6th Ranger Training Battalion, the unit that runs the third phase of Ranger School in the Florida Panhandle’s swamps.

[…]

“Rangers is definitely a brotherhood that I’ve tapped back into, and they’ve given me a sense of purpose,” Spayd said. “I was literally sitting home dying. I was going downhill fast. I think mental toughness is a big deal. It’s a big issue in life.”

Good for the old buck sergeant. he’s right, though, if you just let the disease take over your life, you are doing nothing but dying

ALS is quickly becoming a veterans’ issue since it is twice as likely to affect veterans than the civilian population. It’s even more common among veterans who served in the Middle East for reasons that aren’t clear yet. The VA has made it a “presumptive service-connected disability” and despite what is making news, the VA has been very helpful in my case, at least.

Toran Gaal was a Marine infantryman who lost both his legs in Afghanistan in 2011. He decided that he wanted to be an example to all disabled service members so he took off on a hand-cycle from California. His journey ended 4,000 miles and two months later at the Marine Corps memorial in Alexandria, Virginia yesterday. He also raised nearly $50,000 for the Semper Fi Fund on his ride.

Welcome home, Toran.

DC News FOX 5 DC WTTG