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EGLIN AIR FORCE BASE, Fla. - The bravery and heroism of 12
soldiers assigned to the 7th Special Forces Group (Airborne) was
recognized in a ceremony held October 8, 2014 on the group's
compound located on Eglin Air Force Base in Northwest Florida.
Soldiers and families of the group, Congressman Jeff Miller,
Representative of Florida's 1st Congressional District and leaders
from local communities gathered in the unit's Liberty Chapel to
witness the presentation of two Soldier's Medals, four Bronze Star
Medals with V device for valor and six Army Commendation Medals with
V device for valor.
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October 8, 2014 - U.S. Army Sgt. Carlos Torres, right, is pinned the Soldier's Medal by
Brig. Gen. Michael Turello, deputy commander of the 1st Special
Forces Command (Airborne) (Provisional). Torres, a resident of Fort
Walton Beach, Fla., rescued an incapacitated soldier from a burning
vehicle while the 7th Special Forces Group (Airborne) was stationed
at Fort Bragg.
(U.S. Army photo by Sgt. 1st Class Corey Vandiver)
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"These awards represent the heroes that walk the hallways
of these buildings every day. These are elite soldiers that
represent the Army Values in everything that they do,” said
Lt. Col. Raphael Rodriguez, commander of the group's first
battalion and of two soldiers being honored. “Special Forces
is filled with quiet professionals that do their job without
seeking credit, so when the opportunity presents itself to
recognize these soldiers, it is absolutely deserved.”
The awards presented at the ceremony recognized soldiers
for their actions at Fort Bragg, N.C., prior to the group's
Defense Base Closure and Realignment and Commission mandated
move to Eglin AFB and for actions in combat in Afghanistan
against Taliban and Haqqani insurgents.
“This morning
we have warriors representing the highest caliber in the
ranks of our Special Forces Regiment. There is a common
thread in each of these citations; all these men placed not
only the mission, but their fellow soldier above their own
concern,” said Brig. Gen. Michael Turello, Deputy Commander
of the 1st Special Forces Command (Airborne) (Provisional).
“Acts of extraordinary heroism are not planned, ordered or
commanded. They are acts given freely by the soldier to
their teammates on their left and right and for the success
of the mission.”
Staff Sgt. Christopher Cummings, a
native of Las Vegas, Nevada, and Sgt. Carlos Torres, a
resident of Fort Walton Beach, Florida, were both presented
with the Soldier's Medal. In 2011, while the 7th SFG (A) was
still headquartered at Fort Bragg, N.C., Cummings and Carlos
observed a car engulfed in flames in a parking lot near
their barracks. Approaching the vehicle, they observed a
fellow soldier was still inside, but unresponsive. Risking
their personal safety, they broke a window of the vehicle
and removed the soldier from the burning vehicle before
administering first aid.
Eleven of the soldiers
presented with awards for valor deployed with the group's
third battalion to Afghanistan's southern region as members
of the Combined Joint Special Operations Task Force –
Afghanistan, headquartered on Bagram Airfield in the
country's Parwan province. Another soldier awarded for valor
deployed to Afghanistan with the group's first battalion
previously than the others.
Members of the third
battalion were responsible for special operations in
Afghanistan's southern region near Kandahar from the Fall of
2013 to late Spring of 2014. Their efforts, said Turello,
were critical to the peaceful Afghan Presidential elections
and their unprecedented voter participation. The battalion
also continued in its mission to train, advise and assist
Afghan Security Forces, helping them to build units capable
of independent operations and logistics said Turello.
“The awards that they are receiving are indicative of
those that serve to the left and right of them, their unit,
this organization and our Army as a whole. The way I look at
our men and women... you're our country's national treasure,
you're the future of our nation. Every day, as the only
force operating out there in the battle space...our men and
women did incredible things, building partner capacity,
building our partner's ability to close with and destroy the
enemy, and individually and as [Special Forces] teams...kill
the enemy,” Col. Christopher Riga, Commander of the 7th SFG
(A).
“There's a lot of fighting that is still going
on in Afghanistan that is going to continue. We're still
going to continue to build capacity and work with our
partners. We're still going to continue to kill the enemy,
until we are told to leave,” concluded Riga. “I can't tell
you how proud I am, how honored I am of everyone in this
room.”
By U.S. Army Capt. Thomas Cieslak
Provided
through DVIDS
Copyright 2014
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