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Gov. Sarah Palin shakes hands with Cpl. Ben Chapman, of Fairbanks, May 1, prior to the official welcome home ceremony for the Alaska Army National GuardÕs B Company, 297th Support Battalion. The governor gave letters of appreciation to several soldiers who were previously awarded Bronze Stars with Valor and Purple Hearts. While deployed in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom, Chapman acted as lead truck commander for 1st Platoon.
Photo by Sgt. Karima Turner, Alaska National Guard Public Affairs Office
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CAMP DENALI Ñ Hostile environments, substandard living conditions and extreme weather are all part of war and a soldier's job.
It's part of what soldiers are trained for and, in general, most aren't interested in being given awards or even being recognized, they just want to do their job. But the soldiers of the Alaska Army National Guard's B Company, 297th Support Battalion, didn't just do their job, more than half of the company's 180 soldiers have been decorated for performing their six-month security forces mission in Iraq above and beyond the standard.
According to Sgt. First Class James Young, platoon sergeant for 3rd Platoon, B Company was a mix of brand new, just out of basic training and seasoned soldiers who'd already been deployed at least once. The unit became a melting pot of different mindsets, cultures and ideas.
“I'm pretty proud of everyone,” said Spc. Michael Nelson, a driver for 2nd Platoon from Nenana. “We had people from different military occupational specialties learning new jobs. We got hit on our first mission out by ourselves, and everyone responded really well.”
From responding and reacting to improvised explosive devices and enemy fire, to dealing with everyday life in a combat zone, the soldiers of B Company, 297th Support Battalion faced each challenge with a willingness to learn and determination.
“A lot of us are infantry guys, so we had to break that mentality and learn to work well with others,” said Young of Anchorage. “I think that all of the soldiers adapted very well; we had senior leadership that had been in Iraq once or twice and the willingness to learn and adapt from everyone helped make the unit able to complete its missions successfully.”
“I'm happy with how the challenges helped me develop as a human being,” said Spc. Stephen Vrabel, a driver and gunner for 2nd Platoon. “I've met some amazing people on this deployment who will forever be my friends.
Vrabel, a resident of Eagle River said that he was amazed by the compassion and courage the soldiers displayed. Through the situations they experienced together, they now have an unbreakable bond, he added.
“People performed and responded in an outstanding manner to the kinds of situations we saw there,” Vrabel said. “While we were on one mission we came under heavy fire, Spc. Jeremy Pierce, one of our gunners from Fairbanks, did an amazing job, he returned fire until his M-240B machine gun took a round to it, he then moved to his secondary weapon and continued in the fire fight; he responded better than a lot of people could have under those circumstances; he did a great job.”
Throughout their six-month deployment, the soldiers of B Company, 297th Support Battalion, continued to perform acts of bravery nearly every day. It's because of their dedication and courage that their leadership felt it was important to ensure their soldiers received proper recognition for their actions.
“Previously, awards have fallen through the cracks on National Guard soldiers because no one wanted to put forth the effort to do the paperwork for them,” said First Lt. Hazel Mahatha, executive officer for B Company, 297th Support Battalion. “So making sure that our soldiers received the proper awards and decorations for the service they'd provided to our country was one of the major points that the chain of command addressed É if the soldier was deserving and did something that was a valorous act that merited the award, then we did the paperwork for it.”
To date, four soldiers have been awarded Bronze Stars with Valor. The other awards earned were: 21 were awarded Bronze Stars, five Meritorious Service Medals, five Purple Hearts, two Army Commendation Medals with Valor, 62 Army Commendation Medals, 76 Army Achievement Medals, 38 Combat Action Badges and 10 Combat Infantry Badges, with many of the soldiers receiving multiple decorations.
“It was a hard mission to fall in on,” said Capt. Joshua Shrader, commander of B Company, 297th Support Battalion. “There was a lot of hard work, and a lot of long hours, but they took the bull by the horns and rode it for six-months.”
“Wintertime has a lot less enemy activity, but even in the quiet time, we managed to get into a lot of stuff, and they handled it really well,” said Shrader of Juneau. “There were a lot of complex attacks with improvised explosive devices and small arms fire or ambushes that disabled vehicles. They handled it all superbly that's why they are so decorated, and they definitely earned every award they received.”
Reach the reporter at news@alaskastar.com.
