Tag Archive for '2nd Marine Special Operations Battalion'

Maj. Danny Strelkauskas, currently the commanding officer of Force Company, 1st Reconnaissance Battalion, 1st Marine Division, I Marine Expeditionary Force, pins the Navy Cross on Gunnery Sgt. John S. Mosser, during a ceremony at Recon Point in Camp Schwab, Okinawa, Japan, Dec. 18. Mosser was awarded the Navy Cross by Strelkauskas, who was Mosser

Then-SSgt. Mosser’s patrol came under heavy fire while conducting a combat reconnaissance patrol under the cover of darkness to apprehend a high value target and an enemy security element. The terrain was restrictive and mountainous with large boulders and rugged terrain along the route.

The team came upon a white sport utility vehicle off to the side of the road and a red pick up truck blocking the path. Mosser’s team dismounted from their ground mobility vehicles, and immediately came under heavy machine gun fire from elevated positions cutting off forward and rear movement.