Warm welcome home for Green Beret who survived ambush

Hundreds give wounded veteran hero's welcome in North Idaho

KREM 2 News
Author: Megan Carroll
August 30, 2019

Army Sgt. 1st Class Brian Sharp and his fellow Green Berets were ambushed during a mission in Afghanistan. Sharp was shot multiple times and almost died.

KOOTENAI COUNTY, Idaho — Dozens of community members are lined up to give a hero's welcome on Friday to a veteran who was wounded in Afghanistan this year.

Deputies with the Kootenai County Sheriff's Office provided an escort for Army Sgt. 1st Class Brian Sharp from Stateline to Highway 95, then north to Lancaster Road at 11 a.m. on Friday.

The sheriff's office has also reached out to Idaho State Police and other law enforcement agencies that may want to help.

Sharp is the cousin-in-law of KCSO Sgt. Erik Hedlund, who says Sharp is coming to visit family in North Idaho now that he has recovered enough to travel.

Sgt. Sharp and his fellow Green Berets were on a mission in Afghanistan earlier this year when they were ambushed by their own Afghan support team, Hedlund said.

Two soldiers were killed in the battle. Sharp was shot multiple times in the pelvis and abdomen, and almost died in the field. He was awarded a Purple Heart for his sacrifices.

After Sharp was stabilized, he returned to the United States and has been recovering in the hospital, just recently regaining the ability to walk, Hedlund said. At the same time, his one-year-old daughter, Audrey, was also learning to walk for the first time.
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Michael Mantenuto Was So Much More Than the Actor from Miracle

Green Beret, Hockey Star, Activist and Dad: Michael Mantenuto Was So Much More Than the Actor from Miracle
PEOPLE
BY MICHAEL MILLER
April 27, 2017

Mantenuto enlisted in 2010, two years after making his final film, Surfer Dude. He attended special forces training in 2013, and went on to become a communications sergeant. He was assigned to 1st Special Forces Group, where he was stationed as a communications sergeant until his death.

Many fans recognize Michael Mantenuto from his role in Disney’s Miracle, but those who knew him best will remember him more for his work offscreen as a father, soldier, hockey star and community activists.

“He was so much more than just a Miracle actor,” Teena, a friend of the actor who asked that her last name remain anonymous, tells PEOPLE. After a short career in show business, Mantenuto joined the Army. He was a Special Forces sergeant stationed at Fort Lewis, Washington at the time of his death. He was 35.

The actor was found on Monday afternoon after sustaining a self-inflicted gunshot wound, the King County medical examiner’s office in Seattle, Washington, tells PEOPLE. His death has officially been ruled a suicide. He’s survived by his wife, Kati, and two children: daughter Ava and son Leo.

He deployed in Operation Inherent Resolve, the military’s operational name for the fight against ISIS, according to Bockholt. “He was a decorated service member,” Buckholt says. His awards and decorations include the following: Army Commendation Medal, Army Achievement Medal with two Oak Leaf Clusters, National Defense Service Member, Global War on Terror Service Medal, Army Service Ribbon, and Good Conduct Medal with two knots.

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Green Beret Soldier Raises American Flag in Afghanistan

This patriotic photo of Green Berets in Afghanistan is circulating after this week’s deadly attack
Washington Post
By Dan Lamothe
January 8, 2016

This image reportedly shows a Green Beret soldier flying the American flag

in Marja, Afghanistan, this week after an American unit was attacked, killing

one U.S. soldier and wounding two others. (Obtained by The Washington Post)

It has been a difficult week in Afghanistan for U.S. troops. A team of Green Berets working alongside an Afghan military unit in the violent district of Marja was attacked on Tuesday, leading to the death of one Special Forces soldier and wounds for two more. The incident has raised questions about whether they got the support they needed from their headquarters, and renewed attention on how all or parts of places like Marja have fallen to the Taliban since U.S. troops were withdrawn last year.

In the midst of all this, the photograph above has circulated on military social media pages in the last 24 hours. It purportedly shows a Green Beret soldier flying an American flag from an improvised flag pole made out of a branch in Marja, where Army Staff Sgt. Matthew Q. McClintock was killed Tuesday. The soldier depicted climbed a ladder to do so, apparently displaying the flag for Taliban fighters and others in Marja to see outside the compound.
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Vietnam Veterans Receive Silver Stars for Actions in Vietnam

Chelsea man receives Silver Star for valor under fire
Ron Brodeur served as a gunner/crew chief in the Green Hornets in Vietnam, but was just recently honored for his bravery.
Central Maine.com
BY BETTY ADAMS STAFF WRITER
December 28, 2015

CHELSEA — The helicopter mission to extract or “exfil” an Army Green Beret Special Forces unit on a clandestine mission in Cambodia took place on Feb. 20, 1969.

Vietnam veteran Ron Brodeur, 70, of Chelsea was recently awarded the Silver Star during a ceremony at the Pentagon for his actions on Feb. 20, 1969 as a member the Air Force’s 20th Special Operations Squadron, known as the Green Hornets. Photo by Jeff Pouland

But Ron Brodeur, now 70, recites every detail as if it were yesterday.

Less than two weeks ago, Brodeur and his fellow gunner/crew chief aboard that mission received long delayed Silver Stars for their valor under fire on that day 46 years ago.

Brodeur and Eric Roberts II, who lives near Houston, Texas, were at the Pentagon to receive the military award Dec. 17. There the two Green Hornets, members of the 20th Special Operations Squadron, reminisced about that particular mission and hundreds of others during their time in the Air Force in Vietnam.

“Our job was reconnaissance,” Brodeur said on Saturday as he sat in the sun room of his Chelsea home. “We put Army Green Berets into the jungle in Cambodia, and when they got into trouble, they were exfilled or taken out.”

The Air Force crews flew UH-1 F/P helicopters, which Brodeur frequently referred to as airplanes. Eight helicopters were kept at the forward operations base.

“We lost quite a few airplanes and crew members while we were there,” Brodeur said.
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No Charges For Green Berets Friendly Fire Deaths in Afghanitan

Green Berets won’t be punished for Afghanistan 'friendly fire' incident 
Stars and Stripes
By Jon Harper
Published: December 31, 2014

WASHINGTON — The commander of U.S. Army Special Operations Command won’t punish two Special Forces soldiers involved in "friendly-fire" deaths in Afghanistan earlier this year, according to officials.

Five American soldiers and their Afghan counterpart were killed June 9 when an Air Force B-1 Lancet dropped guided bombs on their position after they were misidentified as Taliban fighters.

American special operators, conventional troops, and Afghan army soldiers had been battling insurgents in the Arghandab district of Zabul province throughout the day.

Following a U.S. Central Command investigation, Air Force Maj. Gen. Jeffrey Harrigian, the investigating officer, blamed the deaths on a series of communication problems between the forces on the ground and the aircrew.

“Had the team understood their system’s capabilities, executed standard tactics, techniques and procedures and communicated effectively, this tragic incident was avoidable,” Harrigian wrote in the executive summary of his report.

The troops killed by friendly fire were

Staff Sgt. Scott R. Studenmund, 24

Staff Sgt. Jason A. McDonald, 28

Spc. Justin R. Helton, 25

Cpl. Justin R. Clouse, 22

Pvt. Aaron S. Toppen, 19

Afghan army Sgt. Gulbuddin Ghulam Sakhi.

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Fort Campbell Green Berets in Afghanistan From the Start

Green Berets took center stage in war to rebuild Afghanistan
Fayetteville Observer
By Drew Brooks Military editor
Posted: Sunday, December 14, 2014

Staff photo by Andrew Craft
Special Forces in Afghanistan
At Fort Bragg Col. Michael Sullivan is commander 
of the 3rd Battalion 3rd Special Forces Group.
In Afghanistan, he leads those soldiers and a
small group from the 7th Special Forces Group.

CAMP VANCE, Afghanistan - Michael Sullivan was training to join the Special Forces when he and his fellow soldiers had a real-world lesson to talk about in a food court on Fort Bragg.

On Sept. 9, 2001, suicide attackers posing as journalists assassinated Ahmed Shah Massoud, a leader of the Northern Alliance in Afghanistan.

The Green Beret trainees were familiar with the ongoing conflict in Afghanistan, Sullivan said. They knew Massoud was seen as a threat to the Taliban regime.

Two days later, on Sept. 11, Sullivan - then a captain - was signing for textbooks for his language courses when the planes crashed into the towers in New York and the Pentagon in Washington.

Almost immediately, the Special Forces trainees were speculating - correctly - that the attacks originated in Afghanistan.

For Sullivan and thousands of other Special Forces soldiers, the attacks were life-defining.

Just days after the terrorists struck, Green Berets from the Fort Campbell-based 5th Group were in Afghanistan. In more than 13 years since, the Special Forces presence in the country has been a constant. Thousands of soldiers have given years out of their lives to the Afghanistan mission.

Many have been wounded.

Many have died.

In the process, they say, they have built the foundation for a future in a country that has known decades of war.

Mark Schwartz was a Green Beret major when he became one of the first American soldiers to enter Afghanistan after 9/11.

"You can imagine, you've never been to combat before and you're going to get off an aircraft with yourself and about 10 of your closest friends and you're walking into an uncertain environment," he said.

Now a brigadier general helping to lead special operations forces in Afghanistan, Schwartz said he and his team flew into northern Afghanistan from Central Asia to organize and assist the anti-Taliban forces.
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Green Berets Afghanistan Veterans Donate History to 9-11 Museum

Green Berets Donate Never-Before-Seen Photographs To 9/11 Museum
CBS News New York
August 15, 2014

Photograph donated by the Green Beret Foundation to the National September 11 Memorial Museum. (CREDIT: Green Beret Foundation)

NEW YORK (CBSNewYork) — Green Berets who served in Afghanistan are donating never-before-seen photographs to the National September 11 Memorial Museum.

Before the War in Afghanistan began — only a month after the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks — less than 300 Special Forces soldiers went into Afghanistan on a mission that continues today, 1010 WINS’ Roger Stern reported.

“It’s not in the headlines, you don’t see a lot of it, but right now in the dusty, remote villages of Afghanistan, Green Berets are living and working among Afghan villagers, continuing to try to find ways to help them stand up for themselves,” retired Green Beret Col. Scott Mann said.

When those soldiers returned home, they realized they have a treasure trove of photographs, which they’re now giving to the 9/11 museum.
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PTSD Vietnam Veteran Long Way to see "Brother"

Friendship forged in combat: Two Vietnam War veterans reunite in Fayetteville
Fayobserver
By Drew Brooks Military editor
Posted: Friday, July 25, 2014

Their friendship was forged in combat.

But for the last nearly 50 years, Larry Moore and Thurman P. Woodfork had each assumed the other was dead.

Today in Fayetteville, the two men reunited for the first time since serving together on a small outpost in Vietnam.

Woodfork, who lives in Washington, D.C., was greeted at Fayetteville Regional Airport this morning by Moore, who lives locally.

The two veterans embraced, then exchanged pins for hats that denote their service.

Despite age and a few extra pounds, each man said the other resembled their old self.

"It's pretty fantastic," Woodfork said of seeing Moore.

Ahead of the reunion, a near-giddy Moore said he was anxiously awaiting his old friend.

A veteran of Special Forces, the former Green Beret credited long-delayed treatment for post-traumatic stress for making the day possible. In his darker days, Moore said he couldn't imagine seeing his old friend.

He said 18 months in combat in Vietnam made him wary of people.
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Wounded K-9 Team Returns Home from Afghanistan

Wounded K-9 Team Returns Home
Army.mil/News
by Mrs. Melissa K Buckley
Feb 07, 2014

A specialized search dog handler and his canine partner, both recovering from gunshot wounds during a battle in Afghanistan, returned home to Fort Leonard Wood Friday, greeted by their unit comrades of the 4th Maneuver Enhancement Brigade.

Sgt. Eric Goldenthal, 67th Engineer Detachment, Canine Company, 5th Engineer Battalion, 4th MEB, and his specialized search dog, Corky, both walked off the aircraft on their own power.

The team, one on crutches and the other with a paw bandage, were flown home aboard a C-130 Hercules transport aircraft that landed at the post's Forney Air Field.

Both were shot seconds apart during an attack, Jan. 19, in the Afghanistan Kapisa province, as they were leading the way for Green Berets.

Goldenthal said he wasn't worried about his injury -- his mind was on one thing, his battle-buddy and best friend, Corky.

"I just kept asking if he would be alright. I was worried about his leg," said Goldenthal who also got hit in the leg.

Goldenthal and Corky have been teammates for more than a year. They left Fort Leonard Wood in September for an overseas assignment with Special Forces -- a mission Goldenthal volunteered for.
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PTSD on Trial: Tampa Green Beret with Bronze Star

Special forces sniper Gabriel Brown given short prison term after citing PTSD in series of robberies
ABC Action News
By: Carson Chambers
January 23, 2014

TAMPA - "He wasn't just a soldier. He was a super soldier - an elite fighter," said defense attorney Jose Baez.

Gabriel Brown is a highly decorated combat war veteran. He is a former Special Forces Green Beret awarded a bronze star for serving as a sniper in Afghanistan.

A hero until he came home.

"Because of his illness, he had a downward spiral," said Baez.

Brown pleaded guilty to robbing four Tampa Bay businesses while tossing military flash grenades and carrying a gun. He faced a maximum of 32 years in federal prison for his crimes.

"I do believe that veterans do need treatment. Instead of being incarcerated, they need mental health treatment and drug abuse treatment," said ex wife Maria Suarez.

Suarez says post traumatic stress disorder or PTSD and an addiction to adrenaline took over her ex husband's life. Brown failed out of nursing school, lost money at poker tables, cheated on his wife, abused drugs and became suicidal.

Still Suarez voice support on the steps of the federal courthouse.

"He's a loving man, very caring, great father, always involved with his childrens' life, very family oriented, just fell into some depression or PTSD," she said.
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Fort Bragg Green Beret killed in Afghanistan

DoD: Green Beret fatally shot in Afghanistan
Associated Press
Jan. 16, 2014

FORT MITCHELL, KY. — The Defense Department announced today the death of Sgt. Daniel T. Lee, 28, of Crossville, Tenn.

Lee died Jan. 15 in Parwan Province, Afghanistan, when his unit was hit with small arms fire the DoD announcement said. He was assigned to the 2nd Battalion, 3rd Special Forces Group (Airborne), Fort Bragg, N.C.

The soldier’s father, Daniel Patrick Lee, told The Kentucky Enquirer that Army officials told him and his wife that their son died being shot in the chest.
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Former Eagles cheerleader now stars for Army

Former Eagles cheerleader now stars for Army
USA TODAY Sports
Gary Mihoces
December 19, 2013

Rachel Washburn says she would wear "a pretty head scarf" to help connect with Afghan women.
(Photo: Rachel Washburn)

As a Philadelphia Eagles cheerleader, Rachel Washburn toted pom-poms. As an Army intelligence officer with a special ops combat unit in Afghanistan, she carried an assault rifle and pistol. She was a pioneer in a special mission to relate to local women in ways that would be culturally inappropriate for male troops — including helping deliver an Afghan baby in a snowstorm.

Washburn, 25, who recently returned from her second tour in Afghanistan, will be honored Sunday night as a "Hometown Hero" by the Eagles at their home against the Chicago Bears.

Cheerleader turned soldier? Did that turn heads when she was in military training or living in a mud hut with Green Berets in a village in Afghanistan?

"Initially, it was kind of a novelty to people I met if they ever found out," Washburn said Thursday in a phone interview from Savannah, Ga., where she was on the first day of her post-deployment leave.
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Mefloquine stopped for Green Berets and Special Forces almost 10 years too late

Mefloquine stopped for Green Berets and Special Forces almost 10 years too late
Wounded Times
Kathie Costos
September 19, 2013

In 2004, the VA issued a warning. "The drug is mefloquine, known by the brand name Lariam, which has been given to tens of thousands of soldiers since the war on terrorism began. Some of those soldiers say it has provoked severe mental and physical problems including suicidal and violent behavior, psychosis, convulsions and balance disorders."

In 2009 Spc. Adam Kuligowski's problems began because he couldn't sleep. The "21-year-old soldier was working six days a week, analyzing intelligence that the military gathered while he was serving in Afghanistan. He was gifted at his job and loved being a part of the 101st Airborne Division, just like his father and his great uncle. But Adam was tired and often late for work. His eyes were glassy and he was falling asleep while on duty. His room was messy and his uniform was dirty. His father, Mike Kuligowski, attributes his son's sleeplessness and depression to an anti-malarial medication called mefloquine that was found in his system. In rare cases, it can cause psychiatric symptoms such as anxiety, paranoia, depression, hallucination and psychotic behavior." That report came out in 2010.

By 2011 "dramatic about-face follows years of complaints and concerns that mefloquine caused psychiatric and physical side effects even as it was used around the globe as a front-line defense against the mosquito-borne disease that kills about 800,000 people a year. "Mefloquine is a zombie drug. It's dangerous, and it should have been killed off years ago," said Dr. Remington Nevin, an epidemiologist and Army major who has published research that he said showed the drug can be potentially toxic to the brain. He believes the drop in prescriptions is a tacit acknowledgment of the drug's serious problems."

In 2012 "Mefloquine, also called Lariam, has severe psychiatric side effects. Problems include psychotic behavior, paranoia and hallucinations. The drug has been implicated in numerous suicides and homicides, including deaths in the U.S. military. For years the military has used the weekly pill to help prevent malaria among deployed troops."

I can do this all day but the military just decided to stop giving it to Green Berets and other Special Forces. "Quoting the FDA’s July safety warning, the Surgeon General’s Office of the Army Special Operations Command sent a message to commanders and medical personnel last Friday ordering a halt in prescribing mefloquine for malaria prevention for the approximately 25,000 Green Berets, Rangers, Civil Affairs and Psychological Operations soldiers, command spokesman Lt. Col. Dave Connolly said."

They can pretend all they want that they didn't know what was going on before but the results have been deadly.

Green Berets, other elite Army forces ordered to stop taking anti-malarial drug mefloquine
By Associated Press
Thursday, September 19, 2013

WASHINGTON — The top doctor for Green Berets and other elite Army commandos has told troops to immediately stop taking mefloquine, an anti-malaria drug found to cause permanent brain damage in rare cases.

The ban among special operations forces is the latest development in a long-running controversy over mefloquine. The drug was developed by the Army in the 1970s and has been taken by millions of travelers and people in the military over the years. As alternatives were developed, it fell out of favor as the front-line defense against malaria, a mosquito-borne disease that international health officials say kills roughly 600,000 people a year.

The new prohibition among special operations forces follows a July 29 safety announcement by the Food and Drug Administration that it had strengthened warnings about neurologic side effects associated with the drug. The FDA added a boxed warning to the drug label, the most serious kind of warning, saying neurologic side effects like dizziness, loss of balance and ringing in the ears may become permanent.
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Green Beret's family shocked by outcome of murder trial

Local soldier Nic Moses' family shocked by verdict
KSDK.com
By Mike Rush
September 2, 2013

ST. CHARLES, Mo. (KSDK) - The trial is over, but a St. Charles family says justice was not served for their son.

Nic Moses, 26, was a green beret who had served in Iraq and Afghanistan, but he was killed by a fellow soldier last year in Tennessee.

Even though his killer was convicted, the family is outraged by the outcome.

Benjamin Schweitzer could have spent decades in prison for killing Nic Moses and shooting at two police officers, hitting one during a standoff. But, instead he may be in prison for as little as two years and the family is hoping their outrage in St. Charles will reach the courts in Tennessee.

The shooting happened in March of last year in Clarksville, Tennessee, not far from Fort Campbell, Kentucky.
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How to survive coming home with PTSD De-Tour

Wounded Times has become so large it is hard to manage and many readers are getting lost in all the posts. While Wounded Times began to bring you news on PTSD from across the country, discovering how many stories effecting veterans lives became a mission to bring them to the attention of others. After over 19,000 posts I have been thinking about doing this site for a long time.

PTSD De-Tour will be about veterans and their families (including current military) trying to heal from PTSD. In other words, if it isn't about Combat PTSD, it won't be on De-Tour. I thought you'd like that.
Go over there now and read the latest news report from USA Today about the stresses on families of Special Forces war fighters. I bet it is something you never read before.

Green Beret among the dead in Afghanistan insider attack

U.S. Green Beret among those killed in Afghan attack
By Mark Morgenstein and Masoud Popalzai
CNN
March 11, 2013

STORY HIGHLIGHTS
A Green Beret is one of two Americans killed in Afghanistan, a U.S. official says
Two Afghans also are killed; 10 more Americans are wounded, coalition officials say
The assailant is dead, a U.S. official says
It was first fatal "green-on-blue" attack on coalition troops in two months

Kabul, Afghanistan (CNN) -- Two Americans -- one a Green Beret -- were killed Monday when an assailant wearing an Afghan National Security Forces uniform opened fire on the group, U.S. and NATO's International Security Assistance Force officials said.

The shootout in eastern Afghanistan didn't last long, as coalition forces "returned fire and killed the attacker," a U.S. official told CNN.

Two Afghan army personnel also were killed, said Gen. Zahir Azimi, an Afghan Defense Ministry spokesman. A U.S. military official told CNN that at least 10 Americans were wounded as well.

The assailant fired at the victims with a truck-mounted machine gun, Azimi said, after a meeting between coalition and Afghan forces at a military base in the Jalrez district of Wardak province, about an hour west of Kabul. Green Berets and Afghan forces are based there, a U.S. official said.
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2 Service Members Killed Insider Attack

SFC Josh Burnette cheered by 200 in Orlando

UPDATE February 2, 2013
Just to let you know the video project is finally done! Because there was so much footage to use, it ended up over an hour long and is a huge file so it hard to be compressed and then compressed again until I got it down to the size where it would fit onto a DVD. As it is, there are two parts to it and I am about to try something new. There is a new DVD that will hold over 8 GB, so wish me luck or you'll be getting two DVDs.
Three weeks worth of editing and while I wanted to pull my hair out, I have to say that after watching the footage about a thousand times, I still get a kick out of it. It was a lot of fun and a really great cause. So proud of everyone for doing all of this for a wonderful man like Josh.
Check back soon for an update post to be done sometime tomorrow.

Yesterday was the event for SFC JOSH BURNETTE, US ARMY, GREEN BERET at the VFW. Josh was given a limo ride and motorcycle escort Orlando style! About 200 people came to help Josh be welcomed back home after a long recovery. There will be more on this as soon as I have the video done. This three hour event was a a lot of fun to cover and here's a few shots grabbed from the film.

Here are some videos from the event. If you want to watch the whole thing, you'll have to order a DVD for a tax deductible donation of $20.00. Use PAYPAL button on this site and make sure to put in DVD with your name and address. You can also mail checks to
Pointman of Winter Park
PO Box 196992
Winter Springs FL 32719-6992

Wounded in Afghanistan, wrapped in love in Orlando

Have you even had one of those days when it seems nothing went right? SFC Josh Burnette had one of those days on June 27, 2012 in Afghanistan.

He's a quiet hero that didn't feel as if he deserved anything special. Well, he's getting it anyway!

He survived and now I have another question. Ever have one of those days when you felt like you really wanted to do something for some of our wounded? Ever want to know where the money is going to and what it will be doing? Here's your chance.

On January 12, 2013, there is a very special event for Josh at VFW Post 4287 in Orlando FL sponsored by Semper Fidelis. You can get tickets ahead of time by contacting Mary at letsnotforgetthem@yahoo.com.

I will be filming this event and can't wait to do something for someone like him. How about you?

Army admits mistake in Special Forces MOS OEF OIF veteran

Army Pulls Candidate's Mistakenly-Awarded SF MOS
Military.com
by Bryant Jordan
Jul 04, 2012

The Army has revoked the Special Forces military occupational specialty of an Arkansas political candidate who claimed he served as a Green Beret in Iraq and Afghanistan.

Kenneth Aden, a Democrat running against incumbent Rep. Steve Womack for Arkansas' 3rd District, has said in interviews he served tours in Iraq and Afghanistan as a Green Beret, though a DD-214 and other documents he released to substantiate the claim only raised questions.

In a statement Tuesday, a spokeswoman for the Special Warfare Training Center at Fort Bragg, N.C., said Aden was dropped from Special Forces training in April 2008 "after failing twice to pass the Light Weapons Exam and Hands-on Mortar Exam."

Nevertheless the center in June 2008 erroneously issued an order awarding him the 18 B MOS – Special Forces Weapons Sergeant – and then failed to catch the mistake. When told last week that the Army called Aden's MOS order a mistake and had revoked it, campaign spokesman Vincent Leibowitz said Aden never received orders pulling the MOS.

That turns out to be true, since the Army only noticed and corrected its mistake after media attention focused on Aden's military background, according to training center spokeswoman Janice Burton.

Retired Special Forces Master Sgt. Jeff "JD" Hinton, who has exposed many phony veterans or troops who embellished their records, says Aden had to know all along that he never was Special Forces.
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2 Green Berets Receive Distinguished Service Cross

2 Green Berets Receive Distinguished Service Cross
Jun 13, 2012
Fayetteville (N.C.) Observer
by Drew Brooks

Battling insurgents hiding in fortified bunkers, Staff Sgt. Corey Calkins led a group of Afghan soldiers over a road littered with bombs and into a hail of gunfire.

A month later, Chief Warrant Officer 2 Jason Myers ran up and down a trapped convoy amid a barrage of enemy fire to find a way to escape an ambush.

Both soldiers, members of the 3rd Special Forces Group, received the nation's second-highest military award for valor -- the Distinguished Service Cross -- at a ceremony Tuesday on Fort Bragg.

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