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WASHINGTON, July 26, 2011 -- They are men used to seeing their
deeds pass as unrecognized as their battlefield movements, but
Monday one active-duty and five National Guard Special Forces
Soldiers took the limelight here to receive a French award roughly
equivalent to the Silver Star.
Special Forces soldiers from the 10th Special Forces Group and the 20th Special Forces Group received the French Croix de la Valeur Militaire, roughly analagous to the Silver Star, during a private ceremony at the French ambassador's residence in Washington, D.C., July 25, 2011. U.S. Army photo by Staff Sgt. Jim Greenhill |
The six were honored with the Croix de la Valeur
Militaire in a private ceremony at the French Ambassador's
Residence attended by senior leaders including Army Gen.
Martin Dempsey, the Army chief of staff nominated to be the
next chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, and Maj. Gen.
Timothy Kadavy, deputy director of the Army National Guard.
“I am deeply honored to pay tribute to six most
outstanding American Soldiers from the United States Army
and the Army National Guard who distinguished themselves
while fighting the Taliban and Al Qaida elements in
Afghanistan,” said French Ambassador Fran�ois Delattre.
“Through their outstanding bravery and engagement in
combat, they fought at the risk of their own lives to assist
French Soldiers, their brothers in arms, who experienced a
barrage of fire from the enemy.”
The five National
Guard Soldiers supported a French regiment executing a
mission in and around the Uzbeen Valley in Afghanistan in
2009. The active-duty Soldier was recognized for similarly
heroic action in the same region a year earlier.
“They were trying to get at the French operating in the
valley,” said Army National Guard Capt. Thomas Harper, one
of the awardees. “We prevented that from happening, allowing
them to conduct their mission.”
Created in 1956 by
the French government to reward extraordinary deeds of
bravery carried out as part of security and law enforcement
operations, the Croix de la Valeur Militaire -- or French
Cross of Military Valor -- is one of the most respected
decorations in the French military, Delattre said.
Those recognized Monday are:
“You
demonstrated the highest military qualities and sense of
duty,” Delattre told them. “You distinguished yourselves.
Your outstanding conduct alongside French forces, your
remarkable bravery in the face of danger in the combat zone,
and your superb combatant qualities deserve to be
commended.”
“It's a huge honor for all of us,” said
Harper, a traditional Guard member who has been on Active
Duty most of the last decade and was joined Monday by his
parents and sisters. “They're completely overwhelmed. We
don't normally look for this kind of recognition. I don't
think they've ever even been to one of my military school
graduations.”
The recognition of the Guard members
reflects the Guard's contributions to the total force,
Dempsey said.
“The last three award ceremonies I've
been to happen to have been National Guard Soldiers,” he
said. “We're really one Army. It's a signal that, as we go
forward in a new fiscal environment, we have to maintain
faith with all three components of our Army -- active, Guard
and Reserve.”
“It's a great credit to the young men
and women who serve,” he said. “I couldn't be more proud of
our Army in general, but tonight is a night for five of
these six Soldiers in particular who happen to be National
Guard.”
The National Guard has Special Forces in 18
states. While they train and deploy just as active-duty
Soldiers, Guard members must also balance civilian lives and
careers. There are five active-duty Special Forces Groups
and two in the National Guard.
“We're in the right
place at the wrong time,” quipped Army National Guard Brig.
Gen. Steven Duff, deputy commander, U.S. Army Special Forces
Command (Airborne). “We're everywhere. We can do whatever is
necessary, and it shows that the caliber of our Soldiers are
just as good as anybody else.”
“We are part of the
operational force,” he said. “Given the proper
predictability in our force generation model, we can
accomplish any mission that's given.”
“It says a lot
about our units and our dedication to duty and the training
that we've undergone, as well as the maturity of our
Soldiers,” Harper said.
“It's a great honor,” said
Ahern, a laser physicist in his civilian career who has
spent four of the last 10 years deployed or recovering from
combat-related injuries.
Ahern's parents, wife and
daughter accompanied him.
“They see the newspaper
stories,” he said. “They hear abstract descriptions of what
you've done. But they don't really see it firsthand, nor do
they see recognition, so this is a really good opportunity.”
A full narrative of the exact events that earned the six
their awards Monday cannot be shared here.
But there
is one: It tells of men surrounded, wildly outnumbered and
pinned down for hours. Of men who fought on despite severe
injuries. Of lifesaving buddy aid under withering, accurate
fire -- and of declined opportunities to be medically
evacuated in order to stay in the fight until the last man
was out safe.
None of the Green Berets mentioned any
of this Monday.
The silent professionals stepped
briefly into the light to accept honors; said almost nothing
of battles fought in Afghanistan and in hospitals; shook
hands with senior leaders who had come to thank them and, by
extension, all they serve alongside; shared the moment with
parents, wives and children who rarely get to share what
they do -- and slipped back into the night as modestly and
quietly as they arrived.
“We had kind of a tough
fight those last few days in Afghanistan,” Harper said. “We
were just happy to be alive. We really didn't expect this
kind of honor. It's pretty overwhelming, I'll tell you.”
“We're very quiet in what we do,” he explained. “We
don't expect recognition. We don't look for it. This has
been a little much for us today, but we're happy that we
could be here and that the French felt they could give us
this extreme honor.”
Among those present were Navy
Adm. Eric Olson, commander, U.S. Special Operations Command;
Lt. Gen. John Mulholland, commanding general, U.S. Army
Special Operations Command and Lt. Gen. Richard Zahner,
deputy chief of staff for intelligence.
By Army Staff Sgt. Jim Greenhill
Army News Service
Copyright 2011
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