ADT commander presents combat awards to six Soldiers

Courtesy story

Staff Sgt. Scott Runyan of Martinsville, Ind., is presented with the Combat Action Badge by Col. Brian Copes, 1-19th ADT commander. (Courtesy photo) download hi-res photo

FORWARD OPERATING BASE SALERNO, Afghanistan (7/9/09) -- Soldiers from the Indiana National Guard's 1-19th Agribusiness Development Team were recently awarded a Combat Action Badge after two separate improvised explosive device incidents here in the Khost Province of eastern Afghanistan.

In May, Soldiers from the ADT were returning from a two-day combat mission when the lead truck was struck by a command-detonated IED. The Soldiers reacted and responded as they had been trained to do.

After the initial engagement, a secondary trip-wire IED was discovered by the team. This initiated a 20-hour period where the ADT patrol secured the area waiting for Explosive Ordnance Disposal to evaluate the site, and then for a maintenance company to recover the damaged truck.

In June, Soldiers from the ADT encountered and detonated another tripwire IED during a mounted combat patrol. This incident involved a home-made tripwire activating device designed by the ADT that was mounted as an extension of an existing mine-roller. The IED resulted in no injuries to personnel and no damage to the vehicle.

Six soldiers from Indiana received a CAB, including Capt. Robert Cline of Heltonville, Ind., Sgt. Maj. Scott Bassett of Saint Paul, Ind., Sgt. 1st Class Mark Frettinger of Rochester, Ind., Sgt. 1st Class Jason Jacobs of Covington, Ind., Sgt. 1st Class Lance Murphy of Marengo, Ind., and Staff Sgt. Scott Runyan of Martinsville, Ind.

"Combat is long stretches of just doing your job, with short, intense, periods of activity. It is during these intense periods that the years of training of the Soldiers in the unit takes over to keep everyone safe," said Cline.

The Soldiers reacted as trained professionals deliberately and methodically executing the critical tasks necessary to assess the situation and respond appropriately, Guard officials said.

"My superb non-commissioned officers confidently and calmly responded to the incident, securing the immediate area, assessing potential injuries, and interrogating the site for additional threats," said Col. Brian Copes, commander of the ADT. "My agricultural experts and senior staff on this mission immediately assumed their secondary, and often more critical role, as augmented security and first responders.

"Everyone fights, no one is a passenger. Every Soldier knows that is my expectation for them, regardless of rank and specialty. I could not be more proud of my Soldiers."

The Soldiers are seven months into a 12-month mobilization in support of Operation Enduring Freedom and will continue working until the job is done.

"The greatest strength of the United States Army is that we train all Soldiers to be professionals," said Bassett. "The actions of the Soldiers in both missions showed that they are professionals in every sense of the word."

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