Jump Salute

A U.S. Soldier salutes his fellow Soldiers while jumping from a C-130 Hercules aircraft over a drop zone in Germany, Feb. 24, 2015. The Soldier is assigned to 1st Battalion, 10th Special Forces Group. U.S. Army photo by Jason Johnston.

R.E.D. Friday - Remember Everyone Deployed!

Tech. Sgt. Travis Egger, 89th Airlift Squadron loadmaster, directs a bus of wounded warriors from the 86th Contingency Aeromedical Staging Facility at Ramstein Air Base toward a 445th Airlift Wing C-17 Globemaster III bound for Joint Base Andrews, Maryland Jan. 4, 2015. U.S. Air Force photo/Capt. Elizabeth Caraway

Army Approves Awards for Victims of 2009 Fort Hood Attack

Secretary of the Army John McHugh has approved awarding the Purple Heart and its civilian counterpart, the Secretary of Defense Medal for the Defense of Freedom, to victims of the 2009 shooting at Fort Hood, Texas, following a change in the medals’ eligibility criteria mandated by Congress.

Among those killed was a former Landstuhl staff member, Lt. Col. Juanita Warman, 55 of Pittsburgh.

Lt. Col. Warman served a year at Landstuhl as a certified psychiatric nurse practitioner, where she regularly volunteered for round-trip flights between downrange and Germany, as well as between Germany and the US in order to care for her patients during transition. An expert in post-traumatic stress disorder and traumatic brain injury, Lt. Col. Warman's military career spanned 25 years in active duty and Army reserves. In 2006, she was awarded the Army Commendation Medal for her meritorious service at Landstuhl.

Warman had been at Fort Hood for only 24 hours to be processed for duty in Iraq, a deployment for which she had volunteered.

The Department of Defense has a long history of awarding Purple Hearts to victims of both domestic and foreign terrorist attacks including the September 11, 2001 attacks in the US, the Khobar Towers bombing in Saudi Arabia of 1996, and the 1983 bombing of the Marine Corps barracks in Beirut, Lebanon.

IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Release No: NR-040-15
February 06, 2015
Army Approves Awards for Victims of 2009 Fort Hood Attack

Secretary of the Army John McHugh announced today that he has approved awarding the Purple Heart and its civilian counterpart, the Secretary of Defense Medal for the Defense of Freedom, to victims of a 2009 shooting at Fort Hood, Texas, following a change in the medals’ eligibility criteria mandated by Congress. Thirteen people were killed and more than 30 wounded in the attack by Major Nidal Hasan, who was convicted in August, 2013, of 13 counts of premeditated murder and 32 counts of attempted murder.

“The Purple Heart’s strict eligibility criteria had prevented us from awarding it to victims of the horrific attack at Fort Hood,” McHugh explained. “Now that Congress has changed the criteria, we believe there is sufficient reason to allow these men and women to be awarded and recognized with either the Purple Heart or, in the case of civilians, the Defense of Freedom medal. It’s an appropriate recognition of their service and sacrifice.”

Under a provision of the National Defense Authorization Act of 2015, Congress expanded the eligibility for the Purple Heart by re-defining what should be considered an attack by a “foreign terrorist organization” for purposes of determining eligibility for the Purple Heart. The legislation states that an event should now be considered an attack by a foreign terrorist organization if the perpetrator of the attack “was in communication with the foreign terrorist organization before the attack” and “the attack was inspired or motivated by the foreign terrorist organization.”

In a review of the Fort Hood incident and the new provisions of law, the Army determined that there was sufficient evidence to conclude Hasan “was in communication with the foreign terrorist organization before the attack,” and that his radicalization and subsequent acts could reasonably be considered to have been “inspired or motivated by the foreign terrorist organization.” Previous criteria required a finding that Hasan had been acting at the direction of a foreign terrorist organization.

McHugh directed Army officials to identify soldiers and civilians now eligible for the awards as soon as possible, and to contact them about presentation of the awards. Soldiers receiving the Purple Heart automatically qualify for combat-related special compensation upon retirement. Recipients are also eligible for burial at Arlington National Cemetery.
Following his 2013 conviction, Hasan was sentenced to death by a general court-martial. He is incarcerated at Fort Leavenworth, Kansas, while post-trial and appellate processes continue.

For additional information regarding this announcement, please contact Lt. Col. Ben Garret at 703-614-5302 or my email at: benjamin.l.garrett4.mil@mail.mil.

The Bonds That Will Never Be Broken

Staff Sgt. Michael H. Ollis previously deployed to Iraq, from April 2008 to May 2009, and to Afghanistan, from June 2010 to May 2011. Ollis deployed with his unit to Afghanistan in support of Operation Enduring Freedom in January 2013, and was killed Aug. 28, 2013, defending Forward Operating Base Ghazni. (Photo courtesy of Fort Drum Public Affairs)

On August 28, 2013, 24-year old Staff Sergeant Michael Ollis of the 10th Mountain Division deliberately placed himself between a suicide bomber and Polish Soldier Lt. Karol Cierpica, saving Lt. Cierpa's life. SSG Ollis was killed when the bomb exploded. His actions that day have earned him a Silver Star and a Polish Armed Forces Gold Medal.

And now, he has a namesake.

Earlier this month, the Polish soldier became the proud father of a baby boy he named in honor of Ollis.

Robert Ollis and his wife, Linda, called the tribute to their son "unexpected" and "wonderful."

"I thought of the baby as a grandson," Ollis Sr. said "We are very happy and honored."

To thank Cierpica and his wife, the Ollis family sent the couple a teddy bear they had specially made out of their son's Army fatigues.

Newborn baby Michael Cierpica lies with a teddy bear made from the Army fatigues of Staff Sgt. Michael Ollis, the soldier from New Dorp who sacrificed his life saving the infant's father during an attack in Afghanistan. (Photo courtesy of Ollis family, via silive.com)
The Ollis family are hoping to meet "Little Michael" in person some day soon. The families have become close, and last year the Ollises traveled to Poland where they visited with the Cierpicas as well as the other Polish soldiers who served at the same base in Afghanistan.


H/t This Ain't Hell.