1st Lt. David A. Provencher, executive Officer for Bravo Company, 1-87 Infantry, is presented the Silver Star during a ceremony Jan. 26. Provencher was awarded the Silver Star for his valorous actions June 16, 2010 in Kunduz province, Afghanistan. Photo by Chief Petty Officer Michael Reinsch

Shots were fired from insurgents at United States Special Operations Forces and Afghan National Army Commandos in the village of Isa Kahn in Kunduz province, Afghanistan. They radioed for a quick reaction force to assist in the fight.

1st Lt. David A. Provencher, then 4th Platoon Leader, Charlie Company, 1-87 Infantry Regiment and his team answered the call. Upon arrival at the village he dismounted and joined the SOF and ANA service members in the fight. Insurgents detonated an improvised explosive device under one of the U.S. vehicles, and Provencher reacted.

Provencher was awarded the Silver Star Jan. 26 for his valorous actions on June 16, 2010. The Silver Star is the third highest military decoration that can be awarded to a service member from any branch of the United States military for valor in the face of the enemy.

“I’ve never had a better platoon leader in my career,” said Sgt. Daniel Stein, a squad leader with 4th platoon, Charlie Company, 1-87 Infantry, Regiment. “I am working on seven years. He’s a great guy and he knew his stuff, anyone in the whole unit would have done anything for him.”

Stein was with Provencher when the event occurred and assisted him when the IED was set off. He has been recommended for the Bronze Star with Valor device for his actions that day.

“Our mission was pretty simple. We did an ANA partner mission the night before and we were just QRF [Quick Reaction Force] for the ANA Commandos and Special Forces for the next day,” said Provencher, now Executive Officer for Bravo Company. “They came under fire and were running out of ammunition and a couple of their weapon systems were breaking down. We moved up to assist them with ammo and fire-power.”

“It’s during that time they continued to push up with the route clearance patrol platoon, and their vehicle was struck by an IED. I was about 50 meters to the north of their position in an open field when the IED struck. I saw there was someone lying on the ground, so I moved over to where they were,” said Provencher.

Provencher and Stein maneuvered under direct fire from the enemy to the disabled vehicle to discover that two soldiers had been killed and three more were wounded. He provided support for the three wounded soldiers until they found cover and for one of the deceased soldiers until his remains were removed from the vehicle.

The second fallen soldier was trapped under the vehicle, and even though he was told they should come back for the soldier, Provencher led a small two-man team to the destroyed vehicle, recovered the last soldier with the use of a recovery vehicle and brought the fallen soldier back.

U.S. Army 1st Lt. David Provencher, from Ellenville, N.Y., and an infantry platoon leader with 1st Battalion, 87th Infantry Regiment, from the 10th Mountain Division’s 1st Brigade Combat Team, receives the Silver Star Medal from Maj. Gen. James Terry, the division’s commander, during a ceremony at Forward Operating Base Kunduz, in northern Afghanistan. Provencher is credited with saving the lives of three wounded soldiers and refusing to leave two others that were mortally wounded. Photo by Sgt. 1st Class John Queen

“The only instinct I felt was, believe it or not, compassion,” Provencher said. “Historically people who were put in for Silver Stars were taking out bunkers and doing all sorts of heroic stuff. I just don’t class myself among previous valor reward recipients.

“It was never a question in my mind to leave a dead or wounded soldier. What went through my mind is ‘I wouldn’t want to be left out there’ and somebody’s parents are going to ask some difficult questions someday,” he said. “They should be afforded the right to be protected, whether they’re dead or alive.”

Provencher is due to redeploy back to his home station within the next couple of months. When he returns home he wants to attend the captains course and take charge of his own company.

DVIDS
Story by Sgt. Michael Reinsch

Cpl Dakota Meyer

It wasn’t a very big battle, as battles go. The Sept. 8, 2009, ambush on a joint patrol of Afghan National Security Forces and Coalition forces in Ganjgal village, Kunar Province, Afghanistan cost the lives of five Americans and nine Afghans. Like so many heartbreaking battles in this war, it need not have turned out this way.

The official report on this action reads:

During mission execution on 8 September 2009, the actions of key leaders at the battalion level were inadequate and ineffective, contributing directly to the loss of life which ensued.

Embedded Training Team 2-8 and the Afghans it was training walked in to a well prepared ambush by 100 to 150 Taliban. Four Marines from the team were cut off and calling for help. Several attempts to reach the four using an armored vehicle were repulsed.

Then Cpl. Dakota Meyer, nearing the end of his four year hitch with the Corps, took matters into his own hands. Already wounded from the rescue attempts with the armored vehicle, he left the vehicle on foot to find his comrades.

They were dead. Under heavy fire, Meyer carried each body back to the relative safety of the vehicle. The Marine Times describes the situation:

After helicopter pilots called on to respond said fighting was too fierce for them to land, Meyer, then 21, charged into the kill zone on foot to find his friends. Under heavy fire, he reached a trench where the pilots had spotted the Marines, by then considered missing.

He found Johnson, 31; Staff Sgt. Aaron Kenefick, 30; 1st Lt. Michael Johnson, 25; Navy Hospital Corpsman 3rd Class James Layton, 22; and an Afghan soldier they were training — all dead and bloody from gunshot wounds. They were spread out in the ditch, their weapons and radios stolen.

“I checked them all for a pulse. There [sic] bodies were already stiff,” Meyer said in a sworn statement he was asked to provide military investigators. “I found SSgt Kenefick facedown in the trench w/ his GPS in his hand. His face appeared as if he was screaming. He had been shot in the head.”

Rather than give up, Meyer, of Greensburg, Ky., fought to bring his buddies back home. Bleeding from his shrapnel wound and still under fire, he carried their bodies back to a Humvee with the help of Afghan troops, and escorted them to nearby Forward Operating Base Joyce, about a mile to the northeast of Ganjgal.

Meyer has reportedly been nominated for the Medal of Honor for his actions on that day. If it is approved by the White House, he would be the second third living recipient of the Medal during the War on Terror.

The Adair County Community Voice has this to say about Meyer and his life after the Corps:

He returned home in June [2010] after his four-year term with the Marines was complete.

Dakota’s perspective of handling the small things in life has changed since his time in Afghanistan.

“It really changed my perspective on taking things for granted,” Dakota said. “It may seem tough here but there are guys over there getting shot at … It’s hard to understand until you’ve seen it first hand.”

Dakota has no plans to return to active duty.

Dakota now works for Ausgar Technology, which is based in San Diego, Calif. He trains military on new gear and technology. However, he has times when his passion for the Marines makes him want to go back.

“When I see things on the news, it makes me want to go back,” Dakota said. “But I can’t win the war by myself.”

This story is also being covered by John Donovon and Blackfive, among many others.

Spc. Matthew Mortensen (center) of Olathe, Kan., a combat medic with 2nd Brigade Combat Team, 10th Mountain Division, shows high spirits, with Pfc. Juan Ortega (left) of Belen, N.M., and Pfc. Jorge Cruz of Waterbury, Conn., after he was shot in the shoulder by sniper fire while on a presence patrol in Baghdad, Dec. 10. Mortensen was sent back to the United States for rehabilitation and recuperation and anticipates returning to his platoon in Iraq in February. (U.S. Army photo by Pfc. Ryan Nolan, 2nd BCT, 10th Mtn. Div.)

“I was probably two feet from my door of my truck when I heard gun fire and it felt like someone just cracked me in the right shoulder blade with a hammer,” said Spc. Matthew Mortensen of Olathe, Kan.

The combat medic with 2nd Brigade Combat Team, 10th Mountain Division, was part of a presence patrol conducting a neighborhood search, Dec. 10, in an area historically known for weapons caches, rockets and mortars.

As the patrol walked the streets, a mounted element went from check point to check point providing security for them. Having reached the last check point, Staff Sgt. Manoj Prasad of Watertown, N.Y., and Mortensen dismounted to maneuver the trucks into a static security posture, when shots were fired.

“I saw a bullet hole in his shirt, and when I cut it open all I could see was blood,” said Prasad. “I looked for an exit wound and couldn’t find one.”

Being the medic on scene, Mortensen provided first aid care to himself after he was injured until he reached the Joint Security Station Loyalty aid station. Combat medics are responsible for providing first aid and frontline trauma care on the battlefield with the primary role to provide medical treatment to wounded soldiers.

“After I was shot, I had my platoon sergeant examine for a wound and he found one on my right shoulder blade,” said Mortensen. “Then I jumped into the truck, threw off my kit because I couldn’t reach my right side with my kit on. After I took it off, I started cleaning up some of the blood with gauze then I used the package for the gauze and created a pressure dressing over the wound just in case it penetrated my chest cavity. I didn’t know what happened to the bullet so that was the only thing I was really worried about”

After the initial treatment, Mortensen was medically evacuated to another JSS. Mortensen kept his composure throughout the event and was able to provide Prasad with the proper medevac procedures for entering the JSS.

The day following the incident, Mortensen was awarded a Purple Heart and a Combat Medical badge while he was in the hospital at Victory Base Complex.

The Purple Heart is awarded to those who have been wounded or killed while serving on or after April 5, 1917 with the U.S. military. The Combat Medical Badge is a decoration of the United States Army which was first created in January 1945. The badge is awarded to any member of the Army Medical Department, pay grade colonel or below, who are assigned or attached to a medical unit (company or smaller size) which provides medical support to a ground combat arms unit during any period in which the unit was engaged in active ground combat.

Mortensen was sent back to the United States for rehabilitation and recuperation. After spending a month back in the States, he anticipates he will return to his platoon in Iraq sometime in February.

DVIDS
Story by Sgt. Jennie Burrett

Cpl. Jonathan Irwin (left center) and Staff Sgt. Dwaine Hood, both with Able Troop, 3rd Squadron, 71st Cavalry Regiment, 3rd Brigade Combat Team, 10th Mountain Division, relax with local Mullahs, or religious leaders, and villagers at the Baraki Barak District Center while they wait for the last of the Mullahs to arrive, Sept. 16. The Soldiers of Task Force Spartan delivered Mosque refurbishment supplies and humanitarian aid packages to the Mullahs to distribute to local families. (Photo by Spc. Jaime’ De Leon, Task Force Spartan Public Affairs)

Mullahs, or Muslim religious leaders throughout Baraki Barak in Logar Province, Afghanistan, gathered at the local District Center to receive Mosque improvement packages, distributed by Soldiers from Task Force Iron Titan, September 16-17.

The Mosque kits included several large rugs, a smaller prayer rug for the Mullah, paint, a new speaker system, and light bulbs. Possibly, the most important part of the kits was solar panels to provide electricity for the Mosque.

Local families also received humanitarian aid packages including blankets, sweaters, rice, peas and other goods. Several humanitarian aid packages were also given to each Mullah to distribute to the neediest families within their local outreach.

“We gave away $85,000 worth of stuff in two days,” said Staff Sgt. Dwaine Hood, a forward observer with Able Troop, 3rd Squadron, 71st Cavalry Regiment, who helps plan many of the troop’s humanitarian efforts.

Local villagers gathered alongside their Mullahs, ready to help transport the goods. With the hot Afghan sun beating down, everyone gathered in the shade while the paperwork was completed. With the help of an interpreter, Hood went down the list and identified each Mullah. Interpreters made last-minute calls to the few who were running late.

“I’m like the middle man,” Hood said. “I set up a meeting and make sure people are who they say they are. I also make sure the people who need to get stuff get it.”

Once everyone was identified and accounted for, the Mullahs each stood by their pile of goods. One at a time, the Mullahs brought in trucks and had the villagers from their area assist in loading the goods.

“The reason these packages are so important is because it upgrades the local Mosque, which in turn, shows we care about their religion and lifestyle and are here to help in any way we can,” Hood said.

“We gave away the Mosque packages to gain the support and trust of the people and to improve their lives,” said Army Cpl. Jonathan Irwin, infantryman, who also serves as Combat Outpost Baraki Barak’s COP Mayor.

Completing the paperwork and loading the trucks took several hours, but the recipients didn’t seem to mind as they each left in jovial spirits signified by their wide smiles.

“They seemed really happy,” Irwin said.

The Mosque refurbishment kits were only one of the many projects Able Troop has planned.

“We still have a lot of projects in the works,” Hood said. “We’ll be giving out more food, clothing and other goods in the near future.”

CJTF-82
Written by Army Spc. Jaime’ De Leon
Task Force Spartan Public Affairs

A Bakhshabad village elder speaks with U.S. Army 1st Lt. Sean Mahard, platoon leader, 2nd Platoon, Troop A, 3rd Squadron, 71st Cavalry Regiment, 3rd Brigade Combat Team, 10th Mountain Division, about getting the village an electrical power generator in Logar province, Sept. 4. Photo by Spc. Derek L. Kuhn

What would it be like to go without computers, MP3 players and video games systems? How about upping the anté and adding air conditioning and light bulbs to the “off-limits list?” To most Americans, the thought of not having such modern day luxuries could be considered “cruel and unusual” punishment.

However, for Afghans living in the rural, rugged mountainous areas, such modern amenities are found few and far between.

Soldiers of Able Troop, 3rd Squadron, 71st Cavalry Regiment, 3rd Brigade Combat Team, 10th Mountain Division, based out of Fort Drum, N.Y., and their Afghan National Army partners are not standing idly by as many Afghans in the Baraki-Barak District of Logar province do without some “modern day essentials.” They are providing some remote villages with electrical power generators in a project affectionately known as “Extreme Make Over: Afghan Edition.” The intent is to help increase the quality of life for the Afghans–one small village at a time.

Recently, they visited the villages of Ahmadak and Bakhshabad to offer the local Shuras the generators and to arrange a day for pick up at Joint Combat Outpost Baraki-Barak.

“We came out here to show the Afghan people that their government and the U.S. are trying to make their lives better,” said 1st Lt. Sean Mahard, platoon leader, 2nd Platoon, Troop. A, 3-71 Cav. “We want to empower them to see the good we are doing,” the Rocky Hill, Conn., native continued, “and that we are here to help.”

The day began as any normal patrol with Soldiers readying their gear, checking their vehicles and taking care of various other tasks. But, unlike normal patrols, they weren’t looking for insurgents. The Soldiers were looking for someone to talk to about the generators.

As the convoy rolled into each village–first Bakhshabad, then Ahmadak, the locals were stand-offish; few wanted to speak to the Soldiers or the accompanying ANA. However, their demeanor quickly changed.

“They were skeptical at first, but they warmed up to us,” said Spc. Jacob Beynon, a medic with 2nd Platoon. “They really liked the idea of having light at night.”

The villagers became very eager to get the generators as they spoke with the Soldiers.

“They were excited and grateful,” said Mahard. “A Bakhshabad elder said, ‘We have 100 families without power’ and the generators we are providing will give these families electricity.”

As the mission wound down and the Soldiers began to leave Ahmadak, Beynon reflected on the mission.

“It is always good to do missions like this,” the Spring, Texas, native said, “it gives you a ‘warm and fuzzy’ feeling.”

Mahard happy about how the mission turned out echoed Beynon’s sentiment.

“It is an honor to be part of a military that wants to help others,” said Mahard. “I’ll be proud to tell my friends and family about this when I go home.”

Prior to leaving at the end of the day, arrangements for the local villagers to pick-up the generators were made, and most came away feeling a little more human.

DVIDS
Story by Spc. Derek L. Kuhn