Marine Dog Handler Awarded Navy Cross
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January 2013 Military Working Dog Team Support Association, Inc. Award Winning Bi-Monthly Newsletter MWDTSA KENNEL TALK Volume 5, Issue 1 www.mwdtsa.org Support MWDTSA now and you won’t miss any of the photos, stories, news and highlights of 2013! Kennel Talk is now an a w a r d w i n n i n g MWD publication! Inside this issue: Navy Cross 1 First Night on Post 4 Dougandara Memorial 6 Update True Heroes 7 Fourth Quarter Care 8 Packages Sgt William Soutra with Posha GSDC Donation 11 MWDTSA Calendar 11 Marine Dog Handler Awarded Navy Training — Europe 12 Cross “I wish I could tell you that it's The Navy Cross, the second What makes this award even going to be okay, but the What skills can you share highest award for combat val- more amazing is that Posha, truth is you've always been to support our dog teams? or was presented to a U. S. Sgt. Soutra’s solid black Ger- the one to pave the way. You We are looking for volun- Marine Corps Special Opera- man shepherd dog worked were always two steps ahead teers in: tions Command (MARSOC) with him, attached to his hip making sure that the paths we Fundraising dog handler, Sgt. William Sou- during the entire mission, traveled were safe. Grant writing tra, for actions taken in showing neither fear, nor hesi- Helmund Province in southern tation and allowing his handler And although you've done Giving presentations Afghanistan. During a brutal to take extraordinary actions. enough already I ask that you Soliciting in kind - two day battle that took place still watch over me, making donations in July of 2010, Sgt. Soutra Posha was lost last year to sure the roads I travel without Newsletter editing and other warriors from the cancer. That loss was hard you are safe.” 1st Marine Special Operations Social networking and this piece was written by Battalion exhibited extraordi- Soutra to honor his best POSHA F-738 "YO” nary heroism during combat friend. Sept, 2003-0831 Aug 11, Contact us for more info: missions. 2011 [email protected] Navy Cross — more on this story page 2 Pa ge 2 MWDTSA KENNEL TALK Volume 5, Issue 1 www.mwdtsa.org SECNAV Decorates MARSOC Warriors With High Combat Valor Awards By Cpl. Kyle McNally MARINE CORPS BASE CAMP PEND- they could move further, their posi- LETON, Calif. (Dec. 3, 2012) – In a tion erupted with flurries of insur- rare public ceremony, four silent gent machinegun and mortar fire. warriors from the 1st Marine Special Pinned down, their Commando part- Operations Battalion, U.S. Marine ner force became disoriented. Corps Forces, Special Operations Command, were recognized with the According to his citation, Soutra nation’s second and third-highest then “immediately and boldly took awards for combat valor in a Mon- charge.” “Moving exposed down day morning ceremony aboard the line,” he signaled the Comman- Camp Pendleton, Calif. dos to concentrate their fire on the enemy’s position, often physically Secretary of the Navy Ray Mabus maneuvering them to do so. With and MARSOC commander Maj. Gen. his platoon oriented, he and Quill Mark A. Clark presented Sgt. Wil- then rushed into the kill zone to find liam B. Soutra with the Navy Cross, Antonik. and awarded the Silver Star to Maj. James T. Rose, Staff Sgt. Frankie J. After moving 150 meters through Above: Secretary of the Navy (SECNAV) the Honora- Shinost and Hospital Corpsman 1st swarms of machinegun fire, they ble Ray Mabus presents Marine Corps Sgt. William Class Patrick B. Quill for the extraor- reached the blast site, where Anto- Soutra with the Navy Cross medal on behalf of the nik lay semi-conscious beside a dinary heroism they exhibited dur- President of the United States during an award cere- ing a combat mission in Helmand wounded Commando. With rounds Province, Afghanistan, nearly two zipping past, Quill immediately went mony at Camp Pendleton. (U.S. Navy photo by Chief years ago. to work rendering lifesaving aid to Mass Communication Specialist Sam Shavers/ Antonik, shielding him with his own Released) Then deployed with Company B, 1st body. Soutra applied tourniquets to MSOB, the Marines and their Afghan the wounded Commando’s legs. Commando partners were tasked After dragging him to a ditch for Below: (From left to right) Hospitalman 1st Class Pat- cover, Soutra returned to Quill, only with a critical mission in the bloody rick B. Quill, SSgt. Frankie J. Shinost, Maj. James T. district of Nahr-e Saraj. Their objec- to discover that Antonik could not Rose and Sgt. William B. Soutra of 1st Marine Special tive was to capture an insurgent be moved hastily due to his injuries. bomb factory and disrupt the ene- All three men stayed in the kill zone, Operations Battalion, U.S. Marine Corps Forces, Spe- my’s activity in the area. despite the intensifying enemy fire. cial Operations Command, stand at attention after being awarded the nation's second and third highest After two days of brutal fighting, Rose was listening to the deteriorat- awards for combat valor. Rose, Shinost and Quill ing situation on his radio. With the and with the patrol’s water and were each awarded the Silver Star for extraordinary ammunition quickly diminishing, the ambush site’s dense vegetation violence culminated with an Impro- rendering air support impossible, heroism exhibited during a combat mission in Hel- vised Explosive Device blast that Rose organized a quick reaction mand Province, Afghanistan nearly two years ago triggered an insurgent ambush and force to attack the enemy com- (U.S. Marine Corps photo by Cpl. Kyle McNally/ left element leader Staff Sgt. Chris pound that was pinning down Antonik mortally wounded. Soutra’s Commando platoon. The QRF, which included Shinost, the According to Clark, the men he and team’s Joint Terminal Attack Con- Mabus recognized on a drizzly De- troller, charged through volleys of cember morning at 1st MSOB’s small arms fire directly at the ene- headquarters displayed “great hero- my’s position. While engaging tar- ism, extraordinary bravery and gets, Shinost managed to pinpoint conspicuous gallantry” in the har- an enemy position in the southern rowing moments that followed. treeline, and directed a surgical A- 10 airstrike that destroyed the Soutra, then a dog handler, and threat. Quill, the team corpsman, received the distress call from Antonik as With the enemy temporarily disori- they were making their way back ented, Soutra and Quill carried from another platoon’s position with Antonik to safety. Rose and Shinost a partial resupply of ammo. Before continued to engage the insurgents in the compound, who now concen- Volume 5, Issue 1 MWDTSA KENNEL TALK Pa ge 3 www.mwdtsa.org trated the majority of their fires on them. Rose stood fast, engaging targets less than 50 meters away. The fire was so intense that a bullet severed his rifle sling. Shinost repeatedly exposed himself to the barrage, locking on targets for the A-10s and marking a drop zone for the MEDEVAC helicopter. Coordinating with Soutra to identify insurgent positions, Shinost directed his aircraft to silence the enemy guns for good with a final airstrike. After more than 48 hours of sus- tained fighting, the Marines and the Commandos pulled out. They had destroyed the bomb factory, and had killed approximately 50 enemy fighters. Above: U.S. Marine Corps Staff Sgt. Chris Willingham and Cpl. William Soutra, both assigned to the U.S. Army's 2nd Special Troops Battalion, 2nd Brigade Antonik was posthumously awarded Combat Team, 4th Infantry Division, direct Posha, a military working dog, to the Bronze Star with combat “V”. search an area during reconnaissance operations in Al Qadasiyah, Iraq, Feb. According to their citations, Soutra, 25, 2009. (U.S. Air Force photo by Senior Airman Eric Harris/Released DOD) Rose, Shinost and Quill each “epitomized” their respective com- bat roles, and their actions saved Right (courtesy photo to the lives of their fellow Marines and MWDTSA) and below Commandos. Additionally, SSgt. Bradley A. Harless, who is currently (courtesy of DOD): Cpl Sou- on deployment, will be presented a tra, Posha, SSgt Chris Willing- Bronze Star with V upon his return ham and Lucca. for his heroic actions during the same operation. “This is a chance to recognize peo- ple who don’t get recognized much,” said Mabus. “Most of their missions are classified, most of the time we don’t hear anything about them or the extraordinary actions they take on a daily basis. And to be able to do this publicly, to recognize these four extraordinary human beings…is very special for me, for the Marine Corps, for the Navy, and for the country.” Left: Sgt Soutra and Posha. Photo courtesy of DOD. Right: Posha with Kong toy. Special courtesy photo to Kennel Talk. Pa ge 4 MWDTSA KENNEL TALK Volume 5, Issue 1 www.mwdtsa.org First Night on Post (An excerpt from the book: Remember the Alamo: A Sentry Dog Handler’s View of Vietnam from the Perimeter of Phan Rang Air Base) By Carl Adams I remember the first night chamber and yell, “OK”. With Andy and I were on the perim- that, the truck would grind eter alone. That ride out to my into gear and head down the first post was no different than road to the next drop off the hundreds that would fol- point. Soon it was my turn. low. The handlers were sitting Someone yelled out my post in the back of the duce-and-a- number as the “duce” came half on wood slat benches that to a stop.