10 Silver Stars, 16 Purple Hearts awarded to First Battalion, 75th Ranger Regiment

Photo: The 75th Ranger Regiment.

SAVANNAH, GA (WTOC) - Scores of U.S. Army Rangers were recognized for extraordinary acts of courage Friday at Hunter Army Airfield.

10 Silver Stars, one of the highest awards for valor, and 16 Purple Hearts, honoring those wounded in action, were among the medals earned by almost 80 Rangers with the First Battalion, 75th Ranger Regiment. In a deployment last year, they conducted 900 missions and killed or captured more than 2,000, yet none of the Rangers seek singular recognition.

"It's for individual valorous achievement, but I think it is more of a collective achievement because we have had so many across the whole Battalion," said 1SG Michael Eiermann, 1/75 Ranger Battalion, Silver Star recipient.

Two Silver Stars were awarded posthumously to families of fallen Rangers.

Photo: The 75th Ranger Regiment.

Homecoming for a wounded combat medic

Ashley Jones walked part of the route, to the delight of the home crowd. Photo: NewsOn6.com.

Crowds Cheer As Cleveland War Hero, Amputee Walks Parade Route

By Brandi Ball, NewsOn6.com

CLEVELAND, Oklahoma -- Cleveland welcomed home a favorite daughter Saturday. U.S. Army Specialist Ashley Jones returned to a hero's welcome, including a parade in her honor.

The young Purple Heart recipient served in the Oklahoma National Guard's 45th Infantry Brigade in Afghanistan. She was in a convoy on December 18, 2011, when it was hit by an IED.

The parade began at 10 a.m. with Patriot Guard bikers, the Cleveland High School Band and military veterans escorting Jones down Broadway Street from Caddo to Pawnee Streets.

With a block to go in the parade route, the vehicle transporting Jones stopped in the street, and she walked on a prosthetic leg in front of the car and waved to supporters.

Amid loud cheers and a lot of tears, Jones walked the rest of the way, to where folks gathered to shake the hero's hand.

As Cleveland Mayor Ron Shipman presented Jones with a proclamation declaring it "Ashley Jones Day," he got a little choked up.

"When she came walking down Main Street it was a beautiful sight," he said. "It was just beautiful."

Saturday was also Jones' 21st birthday, so after the crowd recited the Pledge of Allegiance and the "Star Spangled Banner," it serenaded her with a chorus of "Happy Birthday."

In the IED explosion, Jones broke her back and pelvis, and her right leg was amputated at the knee. She has been recovering in a San Antonio military hospital.

Previous: Injured Medic rejoins Soldier she treated

My Friends on this Wall

Trailer from the documentary "Dealin', Battle of Wanat"

Fair Winds, Lex

We have lost another one of our own.

Retired Top Gun pilot US Navy Captain Carroll LeFon was killed yesterday when his F-21 Kfir jet crashed at Naval Air Station Fallon in Nevada. To those of us in the milblog community, Captain LeFon was better known as Lex of the blog Neptunus Lex.

Lex loved his family, he loved writing, and he loved flying. He didn't want to spend the rest of his life "in a cube". He died passing on that love of flying to the next generation of pilots. He was a beloved husband, father, and son. He was a Patriot. Our thoughts and prayers are with his family. May God hold and comfort them in their pain.

Godspeed, Lex. Our hearts are broken.


Others writing about Lex:
Chap
Sal
Taco
John
Pinch
Susan
Bill
Tim
UltimaRatioReg
Milblogging.com
Lia
Steve
Steeljawscribe
Bouhammer
Subsunk
Pinch at Blackfive
Grim
Jonn
Chuck
The Sniper
Mark
Kanani
Cassandra
Teresa
McQ
LCDR Benjamin “BJ” Armstrong
Navy Times
caltechgirl
FbL
JC at Tailhook
Soldiers' Angels
Boudicca
Lynnis
John

Wounded warriors conquer the surf

One of the San Diego Naval Medical Center's most successful therapy programs is their Warrior Athlete Surf Clinic. Watch Marine Carlos Garcia and Corpsman Stuart Fuke catch the waves.

Continuing Afghanistan Conflict More Severe Injuries Keep Landstuhl Busy

Landstuhl Regional Medical Center in Germany remains busy caring for war casualties in Afganistan. LRMC photo.

From U.S. Medicine:

While military action in Iraq may have ended in 2011, military medical centers such as Landstuhl Regional Medical Center in Germany continue to be busy caring for seriously wounded from Afghanistan.

“Despite the fact that [the conflict in Iraq] is over, our numbers have actually not decreased considerably. … Even in June of last year, it was the 10th-busiest month in terms of casualties since the beginning of the conflict, so our numbers really haven’t significantly decreased,” Air Force Maj. David Zonies, MD, interim trauma director at Landstuhl Regional Medical Center (LRMC), told U.S. Medicine.

In 2011, LRMC received 7,615 wounded troops from theater, with 202 of them from non-U.S. Coalition Forces. Overall, the complexity and severity of injuries seems to have increased.

“The injury patterns we saw from Iraq were more gunshot wounds and smaller explosives,” said Zonies. “In Afghanistan, the explosives that are used are, I presume, of a higher capacity because the amputations that are generated from the dismounted improvised explosive devices are causing severe lower extremity amputation, multiple extremity amputations, and, because of the high impact of the explosives to the lower legs, it creates injuries to the pelvis and perineum.”

In November, the Army released a report on dismounted complex-blast injuries detailing the severity of those injuries, which are defined as explosion-induced battle injuries sustained by a servicemember on foot patrol that involves traumatic amputation of one leg, at least a severe injury to the other leg and a possible pelvic, abdominal and/or genital or urinary injury. The report stated that the incidence of these injuries had increased during the last 15 months of combat in the Afghanistan and that the number of extremity injuries, to include major amputations, had exceeded that seen within Iraq at any point.

More at the link.

"I have never felt stronger and more beautiful than I do today. America has given that back to me."

Terrific story about Sgt. Kendra Coleman from KTRK-TV, Houston.

War veteran honored with gift of home

HOUSTON (KTRK) -- An Afghanistan war veteran who lost her leg during an insurgent attack nearly two years ago is back on her feet and helping other wounded veterans. On Monday, she was the focus of attention as she was honored and awarded for her sacrifice, with a house warming party like no other.

Sgt. Kendra Coleman saw her new home for the first time, with our cameras rolling. She arrived at her new home amid much pomp and circumstance.

On May 11, 2010, an improvised explosive device (IED) in Afghanistan took Sgt. Coleman's leg. Former presidential candidate Ross Perot, Sr. depicts the next moments.

He read, "'I knew I was hit,' she said. 'I reached down to my left leg pocket to grab my tourniquet, my pocket wasn't there, just the remaining pieces of what had been my left leg.'"

Her fellow battle buddies were able to save her. And her little brother then called himself up to duty, dropping everything he was doing to help her rehab.

Sgt. Coleman tearfully said, "He gave up college, he gave up his youth, he gave up having fun. He was only 19 when I was blown up. He spent the last two years taking care of me. So thank you."

"Any brother should do for his sister, I guess," said her brother, Troy Pieper. "She needs me more than I need everything else in the world, so... "

Now a recipient of HelpingAHero.org, Sgt. Coleman walked though the door of her new home with Perot and her husband by her side. Hopefully the master closet is a big one.

"I'm a woman. I have to wear stilettos and skinny jeans," she said.

The sergeant was given a special prosthetic allowing her to wear high heels.

"When I got hurt, I thought my life was over, I would never be attractive again and I would never be strong again or confident," Sgt. Coleman recalled. "Mr. Perot brought that all back. I can wear four and a half inch heels now."

This new Cinco Ranch home and its owner will serve as a monument of heroism and defense of our country.

"Yes, I lost a leg and I have many scars on my body, and I have PTSD, but I have never felt stronger and more beautiful than I do today," Sgt. Coleman said. "America has given that back to me."

After getting settled in, she intends to study at Texas A&M and help other amputees with their rehab, so they can get back on their feet and back to full speed like she did.

Warrior Recovery Center at Kandahar Airfield opens

Roger of the Soldiers' Angels Deployed Medical Support Team spotted our First Response Backpacks in this video about the new Warrior Recovery Center in Kandahar. Soldiers' Angels is a proud supplier of this new facility. Click here if you'd like you sponsor a First Response Backpack for a Wounded Warrior.

Warrior Recovery Center at Kandahar Airfield opens

ISAF Regional Command South
Courtesy Story
By Mass Communication Specialist First Class Farrukh A. Daniel

KANDAHAR AIR FIELD, Afghanistan – The new Warrior Recovery Center, a brand new, state of the art intermediate treatment facility for wounded service members, officially opened its doors during a Ribbon Cutting Ceremony, Feb. 16, at Kandahar Airfield, Afghanistan.

The ceremonial ribbon was cut by Maj. Gen. William Rapp, deputy commanding general for support, U.S. Forces –Afghanistan. He was joined by senior leaders from around Afghanistan in dedicating the facility.

Capt. Bruce Meneley, Commander of Task Force Med – South said, “When I first got here in August, it was clear that we had a very fragmented system of taking care of our wounded warriors who weren’t being transferred out of theater. Boy, we have come a long way today.”

Maj. Gen. Rapp added that keeping soldiers in country has big benefits. “The ability that you are bringing to restore the resiliency of our soldiers, to keep them near the fight, will make the units that are fighting in this battle space that much better.”

“I’m a proponent of the idea that soldiers have a ‘bank’ of resiliency,” said Rapp. “Day in and day out, when they are out on patrols, they are taking withdrawals from that bank. At some point in time, that bank account starts looking pretty low. The ability to restore them, to keep them forward near their buddies, to help rebuild their bank accounts gets them back into the fight. It keeps them from having to be evacuated. Once they are evacuated they rarely come back, but if they are here, they have a tremendously positive success rate in getting them back with their soldiers.”

The Warrior Recovery Center is a residential and outpatient military medical facility that provides short-term, comprehensive care to wounded warriors in southern Afghanistan who suffer from combat related injuries and/or combat stress. The center focuses on four pillars of treatment: Mild Traumatic Brain Injury/Concussive Care, Combat Stress Control Restorative Care, Wounded Warrior (Musculoskeletal) Care, and Behavioral Health.

Capt. Peggy Salinas, a trauma ICU nurse and the officer in charge of the WRC said, “The old Wounded Warrior area was a tent, in a crowded, dusty, noisy area. It wasn’t the best environment for rest and healing. It was hard to ensure they were getting the treatment and recovery they needed.”

The new facility, said Salinas, “Here, we provide a setting that fosters rest, healing and recuperation. The caregivers live here on campus, so we can provide 24 hour care.”

Injured Medic rejoins Soldier she treated

Staff Sgt. Brian Wayland and Spc. Ashley Jones recover at San Antonio Military Medical Center after they were both injured in Afghanistan. Maria Gallegos, Brooke Army Medical Center Public Affairs.

JOINT BASE SAN ANTONIO-FORT SAM HOUSTON -- A Combat Medic who treated a Soldier in Afghanistan found herself in a role reversal after she was injured a week later and brought to San Antonio Military Medical Center where the Soldier she treated is also recovering.

A recent graduate of the University of Oklahoma with an Aerospace Engineer degree and an Infantryman with the National Guard for eight years, Staff Sgt. Brian Wayland deployed to Afghanistan on April 2011 with his unit Company C, 1st Battalion, 179th Infantry, Oklahoma Army National Guard.

"I was definitely excited and nervous when I got the call to deploy. I talked it over with my wife and told her I didn't have to go but I also told her how I could not live with myself if any of my Soldiers were injured or killed and I wasn't there. So together we decided I would go," said Wayland.

On Dec. 9, 2011, Wayland was on his routine mounted patrol in Afghanistan when his vehicle struck an improvised explosive device that threw him away from the vehicle.

"It happened so fast, one minute I was backing up the mine roller vehicle from a clearing route and then the next minute I was in a ditch about 30 to 60 feet away from the vehicle," said Wayland.

He managed to move his injured body about 100 meters to the patrol base where Spc. Ashley Jones started immediate medical aid until he was air-lifted to Forward Operating Base Fenty in Afghanistan.

"As I was lying there on the back of the vehicle -- what kept me motivated to keep going was the thrill of waiting for the 'bird' to pick me up. I kept looking up, just watching, anticipating…,"chuckled Wayland.

Wayland was transferred to SAMMC nine days after he was injured and was diagnosed with Traumatic Brain Injury and multiple facial and body injuries due to fragments from the IED.

"Everyday I'm getting better. I do wish my brain worked the same way as it did before, but this is not an obstacle that I can't overcome. There have been a lot of life lessons that were learned but if all I gave for this country is my concentration, memory problems, hearing and scars, I'm doing pretty good," said Wayland.

Jones, a 20 year-old combat medic, joined the National Guard at age 17, was assigned to Company C, 700 Brigade Support Battalion, 45th Infantry Brigade Combat Team when she deployed and often traveled on convoys to provide medical support for the Soldiers in combat.

"I don't want to have to do my job, but I will when I need to," said Jones. She further went on to explain that combat medics do their most demanding work when others are at their worst.

Coincidentally, one week after Wayland was injured, Jones' vehicle was struck by an IED, injuring her right foot. She soon realized her right foot was crushed from the blast so she immediately started self aid by applying a tourniquet to her right leg until a combat medic came to rescue.

"I was in and out of consciousness so I can't remember how bad I was hurt," said Jones.

She was medically evacuated to FOB Fenty in Afghanistan where they removed her right leg below the knee, transferred her to Germany and then to SAMMC on Dec. 24.

"Just a week ago, I had to MEDEVAC someone and now here I am," she said, reflecting on being on the other end of the patient-medic relationship.

She was the first amputee in her unit.

"I didn't know she was here [SAMMC] until I came back from my four day pass," said Wayland. "My injuries might have been worse if Spc. Jones was not there to provide first aid.

"Her calming demeanor helped me believe I was going to be okay," he added. "That is the big battle when someone gets injured. If you think you are not going to make it, there is a possibility your body might start shutting down. The mind is a powerful thing."

He and his wife visited Jones daily in the hospital until she was released Jan. 18 and plan to remain close friends, especially during their rehabilitation at SAMMC and at the Center for the Intrepid.

"After she got out, I made sure her and her family were taken care of with rides to different places and provide them with any information they need," he said. "On Valentine's Day, my commander and I took Ashley and her mom, JoDe, to dinner to try to make the day special for them. That's the least I can do."

After Jones returns home, she plans to stay in the Oklahoma Army National Guard and return back to school.

"After my rehabilitation, I wanted to transfer to Oklahoma State University to receive my degree in Nursing but after visiting and rehabbing at the CFI, I'm thinking about changing my degree to become a physical therapist," Jones said. "I don't regret my decision in joining the National Guard, its unfortunate what happened to me but I'll get through it."

Wayland would like to find a job in engineering to help other wounded warriors with their injuries.

"I hope to get a job in aerospace engineering and use engineering to better the world. I plan on doing research to help amputees to return to a more normal life through technology. They have given so much, so we as a country should strive to give them the very best," said Wayland.

Wayland and Jones both received Purple Heart medals and certificates for their bravery and courage and Jones received her Combat Medic Badge for treating a fellow Soldier while being actively engaged by the enemy.

Thriving after surviving

"I'm not letting this bring me down at all. There's no point. I'm still here. I'm still talking. Its a blessing that I'm still alive."

- PFC Matthew Leyva was severely wounded in Afghanistan last summer, resulting in the amputation of half of his right hand and both legs. Watch him talk about his plans for the future.

Troops in Afghanistan honor American freedom on President's Day

U.S. Army Capt. John Stehulak (left), Optometry Clinic optometrist, and Staff Sgt. Joseph Hagan, Optometry Clinic Detachment sergeant, stand in front of their creation of a snow version of the Statue of Liberty on Camp Phoenix in Kabul, Afghanistan, Feb. 20, 2012. Stehulak and Hagan are attached to the 124th Medical Detachment based out of Fort Shafter, Hawaii. Photo by Staff Sgt. Amanda Dick.

Cpl. Michael Nicholson returns to huge Tampa welcome

Wounded warrior Cpl. Michael Nicholson returns to huge Tampa welcome

By Stephanie Wang, Times Staff Writer
Monday, February 20, 2012

A voice shouted through a crowd of hundreds.

"Here he comes!"

And a roar of cheers ripped through Tampa International Airport on Sunday afternoon, a building wave of applause for a young Tampa man in uniform.

Everyone wanted to shake his hand. Everyone wanted to hug him. This homecoming, they said, was an answer to their prayers.

Marine Cpl. Michael Nicholson, 22, rolled his wheelchair down the aisle. He wore three prosthetics under his uniform, but when people thanked him, they looked him in his eyes.

Serving in Afghanistan last July, Nicholson lost both legs and part of his left arm in a blast from a hidden explosive. He has undergone 23 surgeries, recovering at a naval hospital in Bethesda, Md.

Nicholson arrived Sunday in Tampa for the first time since being wounded, flying in with his family for a month-long leave from therapy.

At the airport, strangers lingered as long as they could before their flights, curious about the color guard and bagpipes. Friends and supporters, including the Marine Corps League, carried banners and waved flags.

"He needs to know what he did was worth it," said Leanne Bivens, 19, a freshman in the University of South Florida's Navy ROTC program.

Valrico resident and Air Force reservist Travis Lemon brought along his daughters, ages 3 and 4.

"These guys need to see what a real hero is," he said, "because we watch a lot of Disney."
...

At a reception in the pavilion of Christ the King Catholic Church in South Tampa, fellow Marines in dress blues surrounded the car again. Nicholson soon reappeared in his own dress uniform, decorated with a Purple Heart.
...

"I want to thank everybody here," he said. "You guys have been with me since the start ... You guys are family."

As he paused, the crowd bolstered him with shouts of "God bless you!" and the Marines' "Oorah!"

"Y'all have done so much," Nicholson continued, "and I just ask you to do one more thing for me: Keep praying for the guys over in Afghanistan right now."

He stayed on stage as hundreds lined up to greet him. They told him they were proud of him, showering him with gifts of flags, posters, mementos and even Gasparilla beads.

When it was time to leave, they still crowded around him.

Nicholson rolled his wheelchair back to the car, back behind the line of Marines.

He rode a couple of blocks away to a quiet flag-lined street, and then he was finally home.

Read this wonderful story in full at the link, and make sure to check out the photo gallery with more pictures like the one below.

John Residence of Clearwater, left, gives a vial of volcanic ash from Iwo Jima to Cpl. Mike Nicholson, a fellow Marine, during Nicholson’s homecoming Sunday at Tampa International Airport. Photo: James Borchuck, Tampa Bay Times.

Returning 1/6 Marines Reunited with Wounded Comrades at Walter Reed National Military Medical Center

Fellow Marines just back from Afghanistan reunite with LCpl Christian Brown at Walter Reed National Military Medical Center.

Stars & Stripes has the background story. (And I think Captain Trembaly is just about my favorite person in the whole world right now.)

“We had two Marines not come back that came with us,” said Capt. Paul Trembaly, commander of Company B, 1st Battalion, 6th Marine Regiment. The last combat death came Jan. 18, less than two weeks before the Camp Lejeune, N.C., Marines were to begin their rotation back to the states. “They’re mourning him right now,” Trembaly said explaining the Marines' reluctance to talk about those wounded and killed during the deployment.

As a drizzle steadily fell from the gray overcast sky, Trembaly said in planning the ceremony at the memorial, he wanted his Marines “to remember, no matter how hard the times get, or how bad their dreams are, that they are part of a larger prestigious organization that takes care of its own.”

As part of taking care of his company, Trembaly arranged for his Marines, roughly 170 of them, to travel from Camp Lejeune to visit fellow Marines from their unit whose injuries required them to be medically evacuated from Afghanistan and who are recuperating at the Walter Reed National Military Medical Center in Bethesda, Md.

Trembaly said 16 of his Marines were medevaced out during their seven-month deployment. Visiting them at the Bethesda complex was an “incredibly powerful, healing measure for us,” he said. “We’ve been able to come together as a family and as a company. It removes the stress of uncertainty for my Marines not knowing exactly what to say or when to reunite with their brethren who were wounded.”

For the Company B Marines who arrived back in the states on Feb. 4, and for whom the trauma of war is still fresh in their minds, visiting their wounded comrades and presenting the Purple Hearts at the Marine Corps Memorial was a therapeutic venture.

“It’s a pretty humbling experience overall,” said [Sgt. Curt] Bartz. “Got to see our brothers that came back a little early, and a lot of guys will be able to sleep better tonight. It’s been probably one of the most humbling experiences I’ve had in the Marine Corps.

“They’re all doing good now.”

Capt. Paul Trembaly, commander of Company B, 1st Battalion, 6th Marine Regiment presents Purple Hearts during a ceremony Thursday at the Marine Corps Memorial in Arlington, Va.

Amputation cases hit post-9/11 high in 2011

From Stars & Stripes:

More troops lost limbs in 2011 than in any previous year of fighting since 2001, recently published Pentagon data shows. 240 troops sustained at least one arm or leg amputated, up from 196 in 2010 and more than the previous high of 205 during the 2007 Iraq surge.

“These are grievous injuries, yes, but when you see them back here with their families having survived, these guys are all grateful to be alive,” said said Col. Jonathan Jaffin, chief of the Army Surgeon General’s Dismounted Complex Blast Injury Task Force.

The full article can be found here.

Wounded Warriors Work Out at Belvoir in Preparation for 2012 Warrior Games

Fort Belvoir received more than 60 wounded, ill and injured Soldiers and Army veterans from across the country last week. The Soldiers are training and competing for 50 places in the Army Warrior Games field and track team. The games will be held from April 30 - May 5 in Colorado Springs, Colo. Photo and story: James Cullum, Lorton Patch.