Silver Star Recipient
Ronald D. Strickland |
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On May 30,
2007, SFC Ronald Strickland
demonstrated exceptional
courage in the face of more
than fifty enemy fighters, a
force nearly ten times the
size of his element. He
remained cool and calm
throughout the nightlong
engagement that followed,
encountering the enemy at
close range yet completing
an unanticipated recovery
mission.
Strickland was assigned to D
Company, 1st Battalion,
508th Parachute Infantry
Regiment, 4th Brigade Combat
Team.
It was early evening on the
30th when his platoon, part
of Task Force 1Fury, was in
the process of establishing
a blocking position in the
southern portion of the
battalion’s area of
operation in the vicinity of
Kajaki Sofla, Helmand,
Afghanistan. They witnessed
a CH-47 Chinook helicopter
being shot down by enemy
fire after it had just
dropped off its load of
paratroopers on the opposite
side of the river. Without
hesitation, Strickland
started moving his platoon
towards the crash site to
prevent the Taliban from
capturing his fellow
soldiers.
When he arrived at the site,
he dismounted his truck and
grabbed six of his
paratroopers. They quickly
set up a security posture,
and within three minutes the
first of the enemies arrived
at the location. The team
engaged, but they were
clearly outnumbered.
Strickland received intel
from a aerial forward
observer that friendly
reinforcements were en route
but had to escape an ambush
first. Knowing this, he and
his soldiers were able to
hold off at least 30 enemy
fighters
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attempting to get
to the crash site. When the
friendly reinforcements
finally reached the scene,
Strickland fought his way
back to the trucks to
establish a better defensive
posture around the crash
area and then shifted his
efforts toward the recovery
of the seven coalition
soldiers in the wreckage. |
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Demonstrating great
leadership throughout the entire task, Strickland was able to calm
the paratroopers who were providing security by showing exceptional
bravery as two AC-130 gunships eliminated over 30 more enemy
fighters within 100 meters of the crash site.
He also took on most of the recovery efforts in order to prevent his
men from seeing their fellow soldiers fallen. Strickland was able to
recover all seven of the coalition soldiers from the debris and move
their remains safely back to a helicopter extraction point.
For his outstanding commitment to his fellow soldiers during the
entire mission, Strickland was awarded the Silver Star Medal by
President George W. Bush during an 82nd Airborne Division Review on
May 22, 2008 at Fort Bragg in North Carolina. |
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Information and photo
and courtesy of US Army / DoD |
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