Bastogne awards two Silver Star medals
Posted: Thursday, August 11, 2011 in the Fort Campbell Courier
by Sgt. 1st Class Paula Taylor, 1st Brigade Combat Team
Photo by Sgt. Jon Heinrich | 1st BCT
Sergeant Rocky Bloom addresses the guests and Soldiers after being awarded the Silver Star Medal Tuesday, along with infantryman Staff Sgt. Sean Outman. Both are assigned to Company A, 1st Battalion, 327th Infantry Regiment, 1st Brigade Combat Team, 101st Airborne Division and both received the medal for their actions during a mission in the Watapur Valley, Kunar province, Afghanistan, Nov. 14, 2010. |
Two Silver Star Medals were awarded to Soldiers of the 1st Brigade Combat Team, 101st Airborne Division, behind their headquarters building Tuesday.
One of the awardees, Sgt. Rocky Bloom, was presented the medal for valorous achievement while serving as a team leader for 3rd Platoon, Company A, 1st Battalion, 327th Infantry Regiment in support of Operation Enduring Freedom XI.
According to his citation, “Bloom demonstrated the highest standard of performance and valor, saving the lives of several Soldiers by leaving cover on multiple occasions, securing an Afghan National Army machine gun and suppressing the enemy, preventing them from overrunning the platoon’s position during an operation in the Watapur Valley, Kunar province, Afghanistan.”
The other awardee, Staff Sgt. Sean Outman, infantryman, who was also a team leader for 3rd Plt., Co. A, 1-327th Infantry Battalion, received the award for saving the lives of several Soldiers by leaving cover to secure the medic and bring him to the casualty collection point during the same operation.
Major Gen. John Campbell, commander of the 101st Abn. Div. and Fort Campbell, presented the awards along with Col. J.P. McGee, commander, 1st BCT and Command Sgt. Maj. Scott Schroeder, top enlisted advisor, 101st Abn. Div.
“If they could do anything to bring back their five brothers that were lost that day on the 14th of November in the Watapur Valley, they would absolutely trade that Silver Star in for that,” said Campbell. “It was supposed to be about a 72-hour operation, and on the third day, late in the afternoon, that platoon became surrounded by over 100 insurgents and they had the high ground – small arms, [rocket-propelled grenades], machine gun fire – and they weathered the storm.
“Both of these two noncommissioned officers were both shot, both were [medically evacuated]. Their courage, their loyalty to their brothers-in-arms, their actions on that day, displayed selfless service.”
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