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Staff Sgt. Clinton Romesha was not among the first four recipients of a Silver Star, comrades who fought off an attack by overwhelming Taliban forces in one of the many indefensible outpost in isolated regions of Kunar province. I had written about this issue several times:  U.S Defeat in Korengal Valley of Death and also about Outpost Keating. Romesha made a personal choice not to enter the Mormon missionary when he was 19 but enlisted in the US Army.  On February 11 Romesha will be honored as an Afghanistan hero and awarded the Medal of Honor.

Families want accountability:  22 dead in 3 battles and 8 officers receive reprimands

(Army Times) Apr. 19, 2010 – They were “sitting ducks.” About leadership families ask: “Why are they still in command? Where are the generals?”

Such are some of the pleas of the parents of 22 soldiers, Marines and a Navy corpsman killed in three separate — but eerily similar — battles in Afghanistan when their units were put in indefensible positions or left without sufficient support when attacked by overwhelming forces.

In each case, commanders have been found responsible for the battlefield mistakes that contributed to the dangers faced by the troops. Each of the unnamed officers has been officially reprimanded, according to Army releases. But these reprimands display a familiar pattern of Army accountability: field commanders were disciplined, but their high-ranking superiors were spared.

Silver Stars for 4 for actions at COP Keating

(Army Times) Apr. 25, 2010 – Soldiers from 3rd Squadron, 61st Cavalry Regiment, 4th Brigade Combat Team, 4th Infantry Division, fought back valiantly, killing an estimated 100 enemy fighters. But the soldiers suffered heavy losses. Eight of their own were killed, and 24 others wounded on Oct. 3 in one of the deadliest battles since the start of the war in Afghanistan.

On April 9, four of the Americans were awarded the Silver Star, the third highest award for valor, for their actions in the battle. At least four other Silver Star nominations are pending approval.

The Silver Stars were awarded to Capt. Christopher Cordova, 1st Lt. Andrew Bundermann, Sgt. 1st Class Jonathan Hill and Sgt. Thomas Rasmussen. Details from the narratives that accompany the awards paint a harrowing picture of what happened that day in northeast Afghanistan.

First casualties

In the first minutes of the attack, the COP’s main generator was destroyed, cutting off power to most of the post. During the first three hours, enemy mortars hit the COP and nearby Observation Post Fritsche every 15 seconds. RPGs hit all six of the unit’s Humvees …

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Strategic Plans Spawned Bitter End for a Lonely Outpost

Hero of COP Keating battle to receive MoH

(Army Times) Jan. 11, 2013 – The attack on COP Keating remains one of the deadliest attacks against coalition forces in Afghanistan and is chronicled in the book “The Outpost” by Jake Tapper.

Several other soldiers at COP Keating that day have been honored for their actions. According to Army Times’ reporting and “The Outpost,” at least nine soldiers — including the platoon leader who ran operations that day and the physician assistant who treated numerous casualties and gave his own blood to keep one of his patients alive — were awarded the Silver Star, the nation’s third highest award for valor.

In “The Outpost,” Tapper outlines Romesha’s unwavering courage and determination as the vastly outnumbered American troops and their Latvian partners battled an enemy force numbering more than 300.

Romesha is described as intense, short and wiry.

    “The son of a leader of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints Church in Cedarville, California … his parents had hoped he would follow his father into the church leadership, and Romesha had in fact gone to seminary for four years during high school — from five till seven every morning — but ultimately it just wasn’t for him. He didn’t even go on a mission, a regular rite for young Mormon men. Romesha was better suited to this kind of mission, with guns and joes under his command.”

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