Soldier gets Silver Star, reprimand for same battle
By Mike Mount, CNN Senior Pentagon Producer
March 12, 2010 7:49 p.m. EST
STORY HIGHLIGHTS
Army Capt. Matthew Myer has Silver Star from actions during a Taliban attack
Letter of reprimand criticizes him for allowing attack to take place
Two of his superior officers also receive letters of reprimand
Site of attack was at bottom of a valley surrounded by high hills
Washington (CNN) -- A U.S. Army officer who was honored for valor after his combat outpost in Afghanistan was attacked has also received a letter of reprimand for failing to secure the base before the attack, according to Army officials. Such a letter normally would prevent career advancement.
U.S. Army Capt. Matthew Myer received the Silver Star for his part in repelling a Taliban attack on his small combat outpost in eastern Afghanistan in July 2008.
The attack, near the village of Wanat, is still the deadliest ground combat of the war involving U.S. troops. A coordinated Taliban attack from the steep hills surrounding the base almost resulted in the outpost being overrun.
According to troops who survived, the Taliban came at the base with about 200 fighters, outnumbering the U.S. forces at the base. In the end nine soldiers were killed and 12 were wounded. About 100 Taliban were killed.
Despite the heavy U.S. death toll, Myer was awarded the Silver Star for calling in aircraft to beat back the fighters, some of whom had breached the base walls, according to U.S. military officials in Afghanistan.
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Soldier gets Silver Star, reprimand for same battle
Showing posts with label Wanat Afghanistan. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Wanat Afghanistan. Show all posts
Sunday, March 14, 2010
Soldier gets Silver Star, reprimand for same battle
This should leave all of us wondering what is going on when one moment, Capt. Myer was a hero worthy of a Silver Star and then blamed for the attack.
Thursday, April 30, 2009
6-year-old boy accepts dad’s Silver Star
Army via AP First Lt. Jonathan Brostrom was killed July 13 in Afghanistan, one of nine soldiers killed when Taliban guerrillas ambushed an Army outpost.
6-year-old boy accepts dad’s Silver Star
The Associated Press
Posted : Thursday Apr 30, 2009 13:09:20 EDT
WEST HAVEN, Utah — A 6-year-old Plain City boy has been presented with the Silver Star awarded posthumously to his father, who died in a firefight in Afghanistan.
The medal for valor was presented to Jase Spargur on Wednesday during an assembly at Kanesville Elementary School in West Haven. Utah National Guard Maj. Gen. Brian Tarbet gave the medal to Jase. His father, 1st Lt. Jonathan Brostrom, was killed July 13 in Afghanistan.
Brostrom was one of nine soldiers killed when Taliban guerrillas ambushed an Army outpost. Brostrom died carrying medical supplies and ammunition to other soldiers.
Related stories:
Dire sunrise at Wanat
6-year-old boy accepts dad’s Silver Star
Sunday, April 12, 2009
Deadly Afghan battle results in 11 Silver Stars
Deadly Afghan battle results in 11 Silver Stars
By Michelle Tan - Staff writer
Posted : Sunday Apr 12, 2009 8:56:28 EDT
Just days before the end of a punishing 15-month tour in some of Afghanistan’s toughest terrain, soldiers from 2nd Battalion, 503rd Infantry Regiment faced their deadliest battle yet.
On July 13, 2008, about 45 Americans and 24 Afghan soldiers battled up to 200 enemy fighters determined to overrun the newly established Vehicle Patrol Base Kahler and Observation Post Top Side, nestled in the village of Wanat in the Waygul Valley of Konar province.
When the fighting stopped, nine paratroopers were dead and 27 were wounded.
For their actions on that day, 11 soldiers from 2nd Battalion, 503rd Infantry, of the 173rd Airborne Brigade Combat Team in Vicenza, Italy, received Silver Stars, the third highest award for valor. An additional 17 received Bronze Star Medals with V device and 25 received Army Commendation Medals with V device.
On March 30, two of the Silver Star recipients, Capt. Matt Myer and Sgt. Michael Denton, were honored at Fort Benning, Ga., where both are now assigned.
go here for more
http://www.armytimes.com/news/2009/04/army_silverstars_041209w/
By Michelle Tan - Staff writer
Posted : Sunday Apr 12, 2009 8:56:28 EDT
Just days before the end of a punishing 15-month tour in some of Afghanistan’s toughest terrain, soldiers from 2nd Battalion, 503rd Infantry Regiment faced their deadliest battle yet.
On July 13, 2008, about 45 Americans and 24 Afghan soldiers battled up to 200 enemy fighters determined to overrun the newly established Vehicle Patrol Base Kahler and Observation Post Top Side, nestled in the village of Wanat in the Waygul Valley of Konar province.
When the fighting stopped, nine paratroopers were dead and 27 were wounded.
For their actions on that day, 11 soldiers from 2nd Battalion, 503rd Infantry, of the 173rd Airborne Brigade Combat Team in Vicenza, Italy, received Silver Stars, the third highest award for valor. An additional 17 received Bronze Star Medals with V device and 25 received Army Commendation Medals with V device.
On March 30, two of the Silver Star recipients, Capt. Matt Myer and Sgt. Michael Denton, were honored at Fort Benning, Ga., where both are now assigned.
go here for more
http://www.armytimes.com/news/2009/04/army_silverstars_041209w/
Friday, July 18, 2008
Afghanistan: Soldier saw "bloodbath" coming
'It's gonna be a bloodbath,' fallen soldier told father
Story Highlights
U.S. soldiers who died in Afghanistan were a few days from completing deployment
Some wanted money for school; others wanted to start a career in military
Relatives seek to reconcile their grief with their anger toward the military
By Emanuella Grinberg
CNN
(CNN) -- Cpl. Gunnar Zwilling suspected his days were numbered last week, while he and his band of brothers in the 173rd Airborne Brigade Combat Team prepared for a mission near Wanat, Afghanistan.
"It's gonna be a bloodbath," he told his father, Kurt Zwilling, on the phone, in what would be their last conversation.
Kurt Zwilling braced himself for the worst but held out hope that his son would make it home.
"They were in the most dangerous place on Earth. They were in mortal danger, and there was nothing they could do it about it," he said. "But they were soldiers, so they had to do their job."
With just a few days left in their 15-month tour, Gunnar Zwilling and eight of his comrades were killed July 13 in a clash with as many as 200 Taliban militants during a mission to set up an outpost near Wanat. It was the deadliest attack on U.S. troops in Afghanistan in three years.
In the wake of their deaths, the paratroopers have become symbols of what many say is a forgotten war, prompting the U.S. military to draw up plans for putting more troops and resources into the war in Afghanistan. Watch why troops may have to wait for help »
But before they were national heroes, the young soldiers were beloved sons, brothers, fathers and husbands who were drawn to the Army for different reasons.
Cpl. Jason D. Hovater, 24, of Clinton, Tennessee, joined the Army against his family's wishes with the intention of jump-starting his college education.
Before joining the service in 2006, Hovater was a "man of God" who divided his time between his father-in-law's landscaping company and playing songs of worship with his family.
"Everything that God deposited in that boy came out when he played the piano," said his mother, Kathy Hovater, who home-schooled her son and his three siblings.
Shortly after Hovater joined his combat team in Italy, his sister said he called home and said he had made a "mistake," but was committed to following through with his service.
click post title for more
Story Highlights
U.S. soldiers who died in Afghanistan were a few days from completing deployment
Some wanted money for school; others wanted to start a career in military
Relatives seek to reconcile their grief with their anger toward the military
By Emanuella Grinberg
CNN
(CNN) -- Cpl. Gunnar Zwilling suspected his days were numbered last week, while he and his band of brothers in the 173rd Airborne Brigade Combat Team prepared for a mission near Wanat, Afghanistan.
"It's gonna be a bloodbath," he told his father, Kurt Zwilling, on the phone, in what would be their last conversation.
Kurt Zwilling braced himself for the worst but held out hope that his son would make it home.
"They were in the most dangerous place on Earth. They were in mortal danger, and there was nothing they could do it about it," he said. "But they were soldiers, so they had to do their job."
With just a few days left in their 15-month tour, Gunnar Zwilling and eight of his comrades were killed July 13 in a clash with as many as 200 Taliban militants during a mission to set up an outpost near Wanat. It was the deadliest attack on U.S. troops in Afghanistan in three years.
In the wake of their deaths, the paratroopers have become symbols of what many say is a forgotten war, prompting the U.S. military to draw up plans for putting more troops and resources into the war in Afghanistan. Watch why troops may have to wait for help »
But before they were national heroes, the young soldiers were beloved sons, brothers, fathers and husbands who were drawn to the Army for different reasons.
Cpl. Jason D. Hovater, 24, of Clinton, Tennessee, joined the Army against his family's wishes with the intention of jump-starting his college education.
Before joining the service in 2006, Hovater was a "man of God" who divided his time between his father-in-law's landscaping company and playing songs of worship with his family.
"Everything that God deposited in that boy came out when he played the piano," said his mother, Kathy Hovater, who home-schooled her son and his three siblings.
Shortly after Hovater joined his combat team in Italy, his sister said he called home and said he had made a "mistake," but was committed to following through with his service.
click post title for more
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