The video below was produced by a university student, Chelsie Johnson who wanted to give recognition to our youngest soldiers….

By Claudia Grisales | Thursday, July 21, 2011, 11:24 AM

Felicia Gilliam didn’t know her son was selected as a Medal of Honor recipient — the first living Marine to receive the nation’s highest award for valor in 41 years —- until reporters called her Kentucky home Wednesday morning.

On Tuesday, July 12th, Tippin rocked the stage as part of the Town of Oyster Bay’s “Salute to America” concert where the color guard of Massapequa Post 1066 of the American Legion as well as a number of other Long Island service organizations presented the colors to spectators from around the Town of Oyster Bay.  Along with a great concert and mind blowing Gucci fireworks, Town Supervisor, John Venditto, presented individual awards.  This year’s winners include Lifetime Achievement Award recipient Richard M. Hochbrueckner, nominated by the American Legion’s Charles Wagner Post No. 421, Hicksville; Veteran Volunteer of the Year Gus Scutari, nominated by the American Legion Eugene S. Smith Post No. 175, Syosset; and Friend of Veterans Volunteer of the Year Ute Marquardt, nominated by the American Legion Massapequa Post No. 1066.

Tippin has crusaded for the working man and woman since he ripped country music wide open in 1990 with his uncompromising “You’ve Got to Stand for Something.”  On the strength of that remarkable song, comedian Bob Hope invited Tippin to appear with him when he toured the Mideast to entertain the troops of Desert Storm.  Tippin has been a favorite of—and a standby for—America’s fighting forces ever since.

Tippin became immediately enraged by the sneak attacks of 9/11 and quickly remembered a song he’d recently penned, (his proudly defiant), “Where the Stars And Stripes and the Eagle Fly.“   He instantly booked studio time and rushed to Nashville and tracked this emotional anthem that reminds countless people as to what it means to be an American.  Tippin has since journeyed to Iraq and Afghanistan to sing for the troops.  These missions, in turn, have earned him guest spots on such shows as Larry King Live and Hannity & Colmes to speak on the military’s behalf.

Many organizations across the globe are doing great things to support our troops and their families.  This month I have to award the “Support Organization of the Month” to the 1st Marine Division Association.  They have once again demonstrated timely and gracious support to one of our disabled veterans homeless and forgotten in Kentucky by granting her a Tax-Free Grant of $1500.  This money will allow her to move into an apartment that allows service dogs and keep her from ending up living on the street.  (For more on this outrageous case and to see how you can help, visit Betty Kilbride’s page.)

This story could not have been a success without the additional help from the Marines over at Operation Military Embrace which are committed to connecting organizations like the 1st Marine Division Associate with our warriors that need help.  I join them in encouraging other support organizations to pool their networks and resources!

Instead the Expeditionary Sustainment Command (ESC), where Mann served as Deputy Commander, was sent into Afghanistan into an “intensely challenging theater of combat operations,” Mann’s award citation narrative states.

Mann earned a Bronze Star for his service during the 12 month deployment.

As the first ESC to deploy to the this area of operation in Afghanistan, Mann and his fellow soldiers were responsible for the Command and Control of more than 3,000 Soldiers, Sailors, Marines, Airmen, and Civilians. And they planned and executed full spectrum logistics support throughout the area of operations.

Upon his arrival in Afghanistan, there were no operational logistics practices in place, his award citation narrative states. But working to implement their principles of “anticipation, responsiveness, simplicity, economy, survivability, and improvisation,” according to the narrative, they were able to make “huge strides” in establishing and maintaining operations.

The command inherited the daunting task of conducting logistics support of ongoing combat operations while planning and organizing rapid theater expansion in support of more than 20,000 arriving US service members representing an increase to fifteen combat and combat support brigades in 2009. And their work environment upon arrival was truly expeditionary. There were virtually no work stations, communication equipment, or computers, which are the critical tools that the 300-man unit uses to function. Over the first few weeks the personnel worked to establish this infrastructure. The temperature in their tents at times exceeded 100 degrees. But the command also played a leading role in constructing eight new Forward Operating Bases and planning for the 2010 surge of an additional 30,000 US forces across Afghanistan.

“Unit personnel proceeded to construct the headquarters while at the same time the unit was operating full speed to sustain US forces,” the narrative states.

Deputy Commander General, Mann was “fully engaged in supporting virtually every aspect of the Commanding General’s successful efforts to command and control the 4,300 Soldiers, Sailors, Airmen, [and] Civilians in the command, as well as ensuring the health, welfare, safety of these personnel.

” But it was Mann’s leadership that contributed so much to these successes, the narrative states.

Mann was known for mentoring and guiding the staff, which was key to the unit’s success.

Mann led the senior leadership team, he routinely promoted personnel changes to improve unit operations. He played a large role in leading the pre-deployment training, as well.

“COL Mann’s leadership and performance in executing full-spectrum sustainment operations greatly assisted in the unmitigated success of the US mission in Afghanistan,” the narrative states.

Article Source:  Hero of the Week

In the role of Operations Office, Buchheim was responsible for running all the non-medical hospital operations, he said, a task which turned out to be something of a challenge.

When Buccheim arrived at Camp Bucca in May of 2008 there were more than 18,000 detainees at Camp Bucca, he said. And with so many detainees, there were a wide range of medical issues that the hospital staff needed to treat.

While there wasn’t a lot of trauma related healthcare to provide, the hospital treated a whole range of other health issues, from standard ailments to helping treat Iraqis who had previously lost limbs in the war between Iran and Iraq, he said.

“Our hospital had radiology, a physical therapist, prosthetics, an eye doctor, a six bed emergency room, a four bed Intensive Care Unit, and a 34 bed intermediate care ward…Anything that a person can do in the states, we did there,” he said.

“It was a good strategic mission,” Buccheim said of the assignment. “I felt good about that aspect.”

The mission, in part, was based around the idea that by working with and providing medical treatment for detainees the U.S. Military can demonstrate that they are in Iraq to help, he said. Part of the detainee program at Camp Bucca also included teaching job skills to the detainees as well.

“So by treating detainees they can go back into the field and spread word, basically,” he said.

Over the course of the deployment the number of detainees at Camp Bucca dropped from 18,000 to just 4,000, he said.

The best part of the deployment, he said, was “learning how to interact with other people, learning another culture, and preventing losses in the future as opposed to having to treat them.”

Buccheim earned a Bronze Star for his service in the deployment.

During his deployment from May 2008, to January 2009, Jackson led and conducted 31 direct action missions which resulted in the detention of more than 37 high value individuals in the Baghdad area, including a corrupt member of the Iraqi government.

“Well, I obviously can’t talk about the particulars of the various missions, but in retrospect, I can tell you that I felt like we were really making a difference over there,” said Jackson.

His actions led to a significant reduction in enemy capability within the Baghdad area, helped develop the local Iraqi security force, and established a functional brigade within the Iraqi Ministry of Interior.

“I did a fair amount of training. I worked with the Iraqi soldiers to develop increased responsibility and ownership of their training and operations,” Jackson said as he described his teaching role.  “I was also responsible for about 150 training plans for 150 constables.  I advised the company commander on how to incorporate Mission Essential Tasks Lists into the short-range and long-range training calendar,” he said.

According to his Bronze Star medal citation, “his mastery of company-level planning and his ability to convey this knowledge as an effective mentor greatly accelerated the Emergency Response Brigade’s process of becoming a national level, self-reliant Iraqi unit.”

During Jackson’s deployment he also earned the Army Commendation Medal with “Valor” device and Purple Heart for his actions in the face of the enemy on July 19-20, 2008.

He led an assault on a large Jaysh Al Mahdi Special Groups element barricaded inside a three-story house. As he and his men entered the courtyard, the Iraqi assault force breached the front door of the building and enemy fire erupted from all three levels of the structure, effectively pinning down his men.

With utter disregard for his own personal safety, Jackson maneuvered through the courtyard to return fire and maintain control of his force.

Once his unit gained fire superiority, Jackson moved his team to covered positions outside the courtyard, continuously exposed to enemy small arms fire and grenades.  Wounded by an enemy grenade in the midst of the firefight, he continued to lead his team for the remainder of the battle.

After a lull in the battle, the ground force commander called for a cease fire to evaluate the situation. Jackson and his team re-entered the courtyard in another effort to breach the building.

Again, the enemy engaged them with small arms fire and grenades; Jackson again exposed himself to fierce enemy fire as he suppressed enemy positions on the second and third floors of the building.

When the need for Close Air Support arose, Jackson positioned himself on the first floor and used covering fire and a grenade to ensure his men withdrew safely.

Jackson’s quick decisions and calm performance, focus, and dedication under intense enemy fire prevented his team from being overwhelmed and led to mission accomplishment.

“Once the smoke has dissipated and the dust has settled all that is left is the man on your left and right regardless of nationality.  My teammates and Iraqi counterparts are all worthy of this Bronze Star,” Jackson said.

“When you’re not infantry, you’re not the guy pulling the trigger. There’s a lot of times that HR guys feel like the redheaded stepchild,” Thiesfeld said. “But we don’t do it for ourselves, we do it to take care of [the soldiers down at the company level].”

During a 2005 to 2006 deployment to Iraq, in which Thiesfeld served the personnel officer for a battalion stationed in Mahmudiayah, in the area known as the “Sunni Triangle”. Leading a team of nine, Thiesfeld was responsible for the human resources needs for an average of 900 soldiers.

“I was in charge of all the HR related resources,” Thiesfeld said. Those resources spanned from payroll and accountability to awards and evaluations, from deployment operations to casualty operations.

“Everything in the HR related world, I did,” Thiesfeld said.

Commissioned in 1999, Thiesfeld had been working in HR for more than three years at the time of that first deployment.

But, he said, “what I was not trained or prepared for was the environment we were in. Doing [HR] in combat is a lot different from doing it at Fort Knox, Kentucky.”

One of the challenges, he said, was the limited connectivity. The battalion was broken up and spread out in a number of different locations, he said, which made transferring information difficult and complicated.

But the hardest part of the deployment, he said, was running casualty operations. When a soldier was killed in action, it was the duty of Thiesfeld and his team to handle a large part of that operation.

“It’s so easy in the schoolhouse. There’s a process for the reports you send up for KIA and WIA,” Thiesfeld said referring to soldiers killed and wounded in action.

When it becomes personal, again and again running the operations for soldiers killed in action becomes a “dreaded personal event,” he said.

“On our side of the house, it doesn’t end with the event. We end up preparing for the memorial service, sending out the letters of condolences, packing up the memorial gear to send to the next of kin,” Thiesfeld said. “Along with the commander, in some cases you end up being the face, the point of contact for that next of kin. It opens up reminders. That was the biggest drain.”

The Army does a good job, he said, of helping soldiers deal with the stress and hardships of deployment.

” We had a wonderful chaplain,” he said. “If you knew the person who was wounded or killed, he would come down and talk to our shop personally to see how we were doing.”

“It’s a tough job, but the philosophy is that we’re doing it for the soldiers,” he said. “I enjoy taking care of people. And I’ve met a lot of great people from putting them first before other things.”

“I love what I do,” he said.

Thiesfeld earned a Bronze Star Medal for his service during the deployment.

Article Source:  http://ourmilitaryheroes.defense.gov/profiles/thiesfeldM.html