CarlosDJackal
10-27-08, 10:30
http://www.militarytimes.com/news/2008/10/navy_secrethero_102708w/
Valor under fire earned lt. a Navy Cross he can’t wear
By Andrew Scutro - Staff writer
Posted : Monday Oct 27, 2008 8:47:38 EDT
Somewhere out in the fleet, there’s a Navy medical officer who earned the Navy Cross during vicious, hammering combat five years ago.
And he’s not authorized to wear the award — second only to the Medal of Honor.
That’s because the 2003 mission, during which the officer fought like a demon and put himself in the line of fire to save several wounded American and Afghan comrades from al-Qaida and Taliban forces, remains classified.
And so does his identity.
A spokeswoman for the Navy secretary confirmed the existence of the Navy Cross recipient after Navy Times forwarded her a copy of the officer’s citation, in which his name is redacted. So secret was the award that the Navy did not include it when queried as to the number of sailors who have earned the Navy Cross since Sept. 11, 2001. The Navy has now changed the number of recipients from six to seven, even though the seventh award was presented more than a year ago.
“The Department of the Navy has approved the awarding of seven Navy Crosses for Navy personnel,” Capt. Beci Brenton, spokeswoman for Navy Secretary Donald Winter, said Friday.
According to the citation, which is not classified, the unnamed lieutenant wasn’t caught in one brutal firefight but two. The citation does not identify the country but references Afghan personnel who were part of a “joint operational unit” on a mounted patrol with Americans.
Unclear whether night or day, the patrol was ambushed and pounded by “extremely heavy fire from rocket propelled grenades and small arms fire.” The lieutenant got out of his truck to return fire and pulled a wounded Afghan commander behind the engine block and away from the bullets.
Still under fire, he extricated a wounded American, the driver, who was “trapped behind the steering wheel” of a stricken vehicle.
While patching up that American, the lieutenant used his body as a shield, taking several bullets that only punched through his clothing and gear. He then made his way toward two wounded Afghans in the lead vehicles.
After tending to them, he found a squad of Afghan soldiers in “disarray,” rallied them and sent them forward to “break the ambush.”
The account of the first contact ends with the lieutenant treating and evacuating several wounded.
Later in the day, “while sweeping an area of earlier action, a U.S.-Afghan element was ambushed by a platoon-sized enemy force” near the lieutenant. It’s not clear whether the element was the same joint operating unit ambushed earlier.
After an American and an Afghan were “severely wounded,” the lieutenant had to run 200 meters “between opposing forces” and under “withering and continuous heavy machine gun and small arms fire.”
The lieutenant took shrapnel while tending to the two and protecting them from fire “now directed at him.”
An Apache gunship fired rockets while the lieutenant mustered the remaining Afghans, led a “fighting withdrawal” to safety, then moved out “overland back to base.” He finally treated his own wounds when he stopped moving.
In the citation signed by Winter, the lieutenant was noted for “heroic display of decisive and tenacious leadership, unyielding courage in the face of constant enemy fire, and utmost devotion to duty. ...”
‘Sensitive’ mission
Brenton said the information in the citation is unclassified but the officer’s identity remains undisclosed because “the mission was sensitive.”
He was awarded the Navy Cross in April 2007.
“His name has been redacted to protect the individual, as well as the individual’s family,” Brenton said.
She confirmed that he is alive, but it is unclear whether he is still in the Navy or if he has since been promoted.
While acknowledging seven recipients, the Navy has given names of only four of them: Hospital Corpsman 2nd Class (FMF) Luis Fonseca; Gunner’s Mate 2nd Class (SEAL) Danny Dietz; Sonar Technician (Surface) 2nd Class (SEAL) Matthew Axelson; and Special Warfare Operator 1st Class Marcus Luttrell.
“The other three were presented privately due to the sensitivity and classified nature of their missions,” Brenton said.
Besides the lieutenant, the other two, according to several Internet searches, are Master Chief Special Warfare Operator Britt Slabinski and Senior Chief Special Warfare Operator Stephen Bass. Their citations are on the Legion of Valor’s Web site. The legion is a congressionally chartered organization of Medal of Honor, Distinguished Service Cross, Navy Cross and Air Force Cross recipients. Once a service member earns one of those awards, he becomes a member of the legion.
Valor under fire earned lt. a Navy Cross he can’t wear
By Andrew Scutro - Staff writer
Posted : Monday Oct 27, 2008 8:47:38 EDT
Somewhere out in the fleet, there’s a Navy medical officer who earned the Navy Cross during vicious, hammering combat five years ago.
And he’s not authorized to wear the award — second only to the Medal of Honor.
That’s because the 2003 mission, during which the officer fought like a demon and put himself in the line of fire to save several wounded American and Afghan comrades from al-Qaida and Taliban forces, remains classified.
And so does his identity.
A spokeswoman for the Navy secretary confirmed the existence of the Navy Cross recipient after Navy Times forwarded her a copy of the officer’s citation, in which his name is redacted. So secret was the award that the Navy did not include it when queried as to the number of sailors who have earned the Navy Cross since Sept. 11, 2001. The Navy has now changed the number of recipients from six to seven, even though the seventh award was presented more than a year ago.
“The Department of the Navy has approved the awarding of seven Navy Crosses for Navy personnel,” Capt. Beci Brenton, spokeswoman for Navy Secretary Donald Winter, said Friday.
According to the citation, which is not classified, the unnamed lieutenant wasn’t caught in one brutal firefight but two. The citation does not identify the country but references Afghan personnel who were part of a “joint operational unit” on a mounted patrol with Americans.
Unclear whether night or day, the patrol was ambushed and pounded by “extremely heavy fire from rocket propelled grenades and small arms fire.” The lieutenant got out of his truck to return fire and pulled a wounded Afghan commander behind the engine block and away from the bullets.
Still under fire, he extricated a wounded American, the driver, who was “trapped behind the steering wheel” of a stricken vehicle.
While patching up that American, the lieutenant used his body as a shield, taking several bullets that only punched through his clothing and gear. He then made his way toward two wounded Afghans in the lead vehicles.
After tending to them, he found a squad of Afghan soldiers in “disarray,” rallied them and sent them forward to “break the ambush.”
The account of the first contact ends with the lieutenant treating and evacuating several wounded.
Later in the day, “while sweeping an area of earlier action, a U.S.-Afghan element was ambushed by a platoon-sized enemy force” near the lieutenant. It’s not clear whether the element was the same joint operating unit ambushed earlier.
After an American and an Afghan were “severely wounded,” the lieutenant had to run 200 meters “between opposing forces” and under “withering and continuous heavy machine gun and small arms fire.”
The lieutenant took shrapnel while tending to the two and protecting them from fire “now directed at him.”
An Apache gunship fired rockets while the lieutenant mustered the remaining Afghans, led a “fighting withdrawal” to safety, then moved out “overland back to base.” He finally treated his own wounds when he stopped moving.
In the citation signed by Winter, the lieutenant was noted for “heroic display of decisive and tenacious leadership, unyielding courage in the face of constant enemy fire, and utmost devotion to duty. ...”
‘Sensitive’ mission
Brenton said the information in the citation is unclassified but the officer’s identity remains undisclosed because “the mission was sensitive.”
He was awarded the Navy Cross in April 2007.
“His name has been redacted to protect the individual, as well as the individual’s family,” Brenton said.
She confirmed that he is alive, but it is unclear whether he is still in the Navy or if he has since been promoted.
While acknowledging seven recipients, the Navy has given names of only four of them: Hospital Corpsman 2nd Class (FMF) Luis Fonseca; Gunner’s Mate 2nd Class (SEAL) Danny Dietz; Sonar Technician (Surface) 2nd Class (SEAL) Matthew Axelson; and Special Warfare Operator 1st Class Marcus Luttrell.
“The other three were presented privately due to the sensitivity and classified nature of their missions,” Brenton said.
Besides the lieutenant, the other two, according to several Internet searches, are Master Chief Special Warfare Operator Britt Slabinski and Senior Chief Special Warfare Operator Stephen Bass. Their citations are on the Legion of Valor’s Web site. The legion is a congressionally chartered organization of Medal of Honor, Distinguished Service Cross, Navy Cross and Air Force Cross recipients. Once a service member earns one of those awards, he becomes a member of the legion.