Staff Sgt. Brent R. Baldwin
Silver Star – possible Medal of Honor candidate?
Baldwin, who left the military in 2005, will be presented his award for actions against enemy forces in Baqubah, Iraq April 9, 2004 where he demonstrated an extraordinary degree of heroism under fire by rallying ODA 062 in repelling a superior battalion-sized enemy force. Under intense enemy fire and in total disregard for his personal safety, Baldwin saved the life of a wounded American Soldier and went on to lead his team to block the escape of more than 350 rioting Iraqi prisoners.
Fort Carson honored two Green Berets on Wednesday for risking their lives to save comrades in separate Iraq firefights.
The ceremony offered rare insight into battles fought by the post’s secretive 10th Special Forces Group, which recently brought home troops from an Iraq deployment.
The tales of how Chief Warrant Officer Nathan Buelow and former Staff Sgt. Brent Baldwin earned their Silver Star medals also show how soldiers can overcome overwhelming odds with little more than a rifle, wits and bravery.
“When you hear these stories, ask yourself what would have happened if they had not done what they did,†said Lt. Gen. Robert Wagner, the commander of Army Special Operations Command, before pinning the medals on the two men.
“People of lesser character would have stepped back, but they instinctively moved forward,†he told the audience gathered in an airplane hangar.
The Silver Star is the nation’s third-highest award for valor.
Fort Carson’s Green Berets have earned piles of military awards since the 2003 invasion of Iraq, including hundreds of Bronze Star medals. Because of the nature of their work, which involves training Iraqi forces and advising them as they hunt down insurgent leaders, little has been said publicly about the 10th Group’s exploits. [snip]
Baldwin’s Silver Star came for his actions in April 2004, just three months into his first wartime tour.
Now a Colorado Springs businessman, Baldwin was a weapons expert with a Green Beret unit working with Iraqis in Baqouba, northeast of Baghdad.
According to his award citation, Baldwin and his comrades were told 500 insurgents were poised to attack American and Iraqi government facilities in the city.
Baldwin and two members of his team moved to the city’s police station and took up defensive positions on its roof.
Soon, the rooftop hiding place was blanketed by more than a dozen rocket-propelled grenades.
“His hasty defensive position was destroyed by three direct hits,†the Army wrote.Baldwin dragged a wounded American soldier out of the rubble and “revived him under intense hostile fire,†Army records say.
Then Baldwin, carrying an M-249 light machine gun, took the offensive, killing several insurgents during what the Army called a close, pitched battle. Baldwin then grabbed a rocket launcher and again exposed himself to enemy bullets while taking out a machine gun nest.
The attack on the police station sparked a riot among 350 suddenly free jail inmates housed there.
Baldwin led his soldiers to put down the riot and was grabbed by “a very large inmate,†the Army wrote. The Green Beret wrestled the larger man and subdued him. Army records show that when the inmate was taken down, the other rioters gave up.
Baldwin said he was happy to get the medal. But at the same time, he doesn’t want to be called a hero.
“No one wants to stand out and be recognized like this when we’re still at war,†he said, reserving the hero title for those still in Iraq.
