Soldier Spotlight

One MAG-12 sailor reveals his road to success | Marines.mil

6/4/2010 By Lance Cpl. Claudio A. Martinez, Marine Corps Air Station Iwakuni

MARINE CORPS AIR STATION IWAKUNI, Japan — The Navy has a long tradition, filled with the honorable acts its sailors did in the name of their country and for the sake of their fellow shipmates.

Today, as yesterday, sailors live their lives using the Navy core values of honor, courage and commitment as a roadmap to success and leadership.

Many sailors aspire daily to be the best embodiment of the naval tradition they belong to.

Approximately 35 years ago, the department of the Navy developed the Sea Sailor of the Year program in an effort to recognize the best of those sailors.

After being recommended for the award and appearing before numerous boards, Petty Officer 1st Class Lawrence Comdeco, Marine Aircraft Group 12 aeromedical safety corpsman, was recently recognized as the Marine Forces Pacific Sea Sailor of the Year.

“It’s an honor (to be recognized as the MARFORPAC Sea Sailor of the Year),” said Comdeco. “It feels great to be recognized for something that you think of as your daily job.”

Comdeco joined the Navy on June 6, 2001, and even before he joined, his path was laid out before him by what his grandfather Frank Comdeco taught him.

“When I was young, thinking that I could conquer the world, he told me a quote,” said Comdeco. “The quote was, ‘Judge your success by what you gave up in order to achieve it.’ That‘s how I live my life; by that quote.”

Sometimes you have to give things up and make sacrifices in order to be successful, especially in the military, Comdeco said.

“Using that guideline has helped me progress quickly.”

Throughout his naval career, Comdeco has had many memorable moments, always keeping in mind what his grandfather taught him and adding to his knowledge the lessons he’s learned along the way.

One of the of the highlights of Comdeco’s career came when he served as the MAG-12 squadron gunnery sergeant from November 2008 to November 2009.

“For me, personally, that has to be one of the highlights of my career,” said Comdeco. “It was definitely an honor to be able to do that.”

When he first received his post as the MAG- 12 squadron gunnery sergeant, Comdeco was questioned how was it possible that he, as a sailor, was leading Marines.

“My response to everybody was, leadership is leadership regardless of the service you’re in,” said Comdeco. “If you’re an E-6 or an E-7, you should be able to be an E-6 or an E-7 no matter what service it is, if you’re a good leader.”

As Comdeco continued to do what was asked of him, his quality as a sailor and leadership abilities became apparent to both the Marines and sailors around him, and he was recommended to appear before a board to compete for Sea Sailor of the Year.

“For me, all throughout the year, it was not a thought in my mind that I would get sailor of the year,” said Comdeco.

The only thought in mind was to do the job and to do it right, he added.

Comdeco said he attributes his present success as MARFORPAC sailor of the year, to his present command and to the junior Marines and sailors under his charge.

“At this command, they care about succeeding,” said Comdeco. “They care about me succeeding. When you have that environment around you, there’s nothing else you can attribute to succeeding except for the people around you.”

After appearing before numerous boards and returning to Iwakuni as MARFORPAC sailor of the year, few doubted he would succeed, but some were still surprised.

“Honestly, I couldn‘t believe it,” said Lt. Austin Wade Latour, MAG-12 aeromedical officer and Comdeco‘s supervisor. “It’s a long road; it’s a tough road. I guess I wasn‘t surprised, (when he received the recognition) but I was definitely excited. I was just happy for him.”

Latour said he believes Comdeco is a good example for what junior personnel should strive for.

“He’s a good person to emulate if you want to make rank fast and be a good leader,” said Latour. “He knows how to do all that.”

Comdeco’s qualities and abilities have not been lost on the junior personnel under his tutelage.

Petty Officer Raulito Galgana, MAG-12 command career counselor, was sponsored by Comdeco when he arrived on board here two years ago.

Galgana said Comdeco has been his primary mentor ever since he first arrived on station.

“I was meritoriously promoted last year, and I can actually say under his wing,” said Galgana. “He guided me, he mentored me. When I was in a jam or I had decisions to make, I consulted with him and he provided his advice, and most of the time if not all the time I followed his advice. He came to be an outstanding mentor for my career.”

Galgana said one of the things he learned from Comdeco was that at the end of every day he should ask himself what has he done for his junior personnel, the Navy and for himself.

“That only goes to show that whatever he does that day, whatever sacrifices he has made makes him that much of a better sailor,” said Galgana. “He is what a sailor of the year defines. He is a poster-child-sailor. He is what people should look up to and want to be when they’re at his level.”

Although Comdeco is appreciative of the recognition he’s received, he realizes some things continue to be more important than awards and recognition.

“It’s not about an award,” said Comdeco. “It’s more about getting the job done. Doing it right the first time.” It’s about taking care of the Marines and sailors around you and under your charge, he added.

Army sniper films spot for History channel based on 1,300 meter shot in Iraq | Army.mil

FORT POLK, La. (April 19, 2010) — The early morning April sky dawned clear over Forward Operating Base Iskandaryia, Iraq. Sgt. 1st Class Brandon McGuire, a platoon sergeant with 3rd Battalion, 509th Infantry Regiment, whose home base was Fort Richardson, Alaska, and his spotter settled in for their third day of looking for insurgents.

“We were observing a stretch of road that had recently been cleared of IEDs (improvised explosive devices),” said McGuire, now first sergeant of Fort Polk’s Alpha Troop, 1st Battalion (Airborne), 509th Infantry Regiment.

“The area had also seen a lot of mortar activity. We had several Soldiers killed and severely wounded along that stretch of road by IEDs and mortars.”

As the two Soldiers gazed across the expanse between their hiding place – an abandoned shed – and their target area, they noticed a man in local garb sauntering up and down through a series of canals. When he dug into a canal bank and uncovered a mortar tube, McGuire said he knew this was a target.

“We called the battalion TOC (tactical operations center) and reported what we had,” said the Olathe, Kan., native. “We were granted permission to engage the target.”

However, engaging the target was easier said than done.

“We measured the distance at 1,310 meters,” McGuire said. “There was a crosswind of 8-10 knots and a sand storm was heading our way. We didn’t have a lot of time.”

Yet time was needed. Snipers are trained to make a triangle from a target’s chin to his chest, and then aim for that mark. But McGuire’s target was moving up and down through canals making it difficult for the Army marksman to get a clear shot. Then there were the calculations for windage.

Here, McGuire caught a break – there were kids not far from their target flying a kite. “We were able to use the kites to help estimate the wind speed at the target,” McGuire said. “We watched for almost two hours before the target presented himself in such a way that I was able to get a clear shot.”

McGuire said he didn’t think he would hit his target with the first shot.

“I was hoping I would get close enough to make an adjustment and hit him with the second shot,” McGuire said. “I knew that when I fired there would be a brown out for a couple of seconds – the dust would block my vision – so I was depending on my spotter to let me know where the first round hit.”

McGuire took a breath and then squeezed the trigger of his Barrett .50 caliber sniper weapon system. After the dust cleared, McGuire prepared for a second shot, but was unable to find the target.

“I asked my spotter, ‘Where is he?'” McGuire said. “My spotter said, ‘Holy s–, I think you got him.”

McGuire said that for a couple of seconds there was disbelief on his part. Then it was back to work scanning the sector for targets.

The shot was so effective no one knew about it other than McGuire, his spotter – and the target.

“Even the kids flying the kites were oblivious to what happened,” McGuire said. “They just kept flying their kites.”

With the shot, not only had McGuire removed a target that had helped kill and wound American Soldiers, he had also dealt a psychological blow to the enemy.

“No one knew who shot him,” McGuire said. “Not even the local elders. They came to our FOB and told us a member of the mortar team had been killed, but they didn’t know who did it. It hurt them bad because they didn’t know who was targeting them. It took a mental toll on them.”

The shot had an opposite affect on U.S. Soldiers.

“For us, it was great,” McGuire said. “We’d had so many Soldiers killed and who had lost legs. After the shot, the daily mortar attacks and IEDs ceased in that area.”

McGuire said “the million-dollar shot” as it became known among members of his unit, was a big deal to coalition forces in the area.

“Everyone was congratulating me,” he said. “But to me, it seemed like another day in Iraq.”

McGuire recently returned from a trip to California to film a segment of an upcoming History Channel special entitled “Sniper: The Deadliest Mission.” The two-hour documentary is scheduled to air this fall.

“I spent a couple of hours in an interview, then shot the rest of the day with another sniper,” McGuire said. “It was a lot of fun.”

McGuire tributes the success of the improbable shot to tactical patience.

“It took us two hours to get the shot picture I needed on the target because of the terrain,” he said. “We waited, then finally got the shot. Hitting a human target is not like a deer or something. “With an animal, you can kind of predict what their movements are going to be, but with a human, you don’t know what they are going to do.”

Soldier, 79, asks, ‘What can I do now?’ | by Tiffany Nabors, The Bayonet, U.S. Army

FORT BENNING, Ga. — With four military retirements behind him, Col. William Bernhard said former President John F. Kennedy’s plea to the nation nearly 50 years ago inspires him to keep going.

“JFK once said, ‘Ask not what your country can do for you – ask what you can do for your country,'” Bernhard said. “And I’ve always tried to do that.”

The 79-year-old physician, who is possibly one of the oldest Soldiers on active duty, reported to Fort Benning’s CONUS Replacement Center March 20, prior to leaving for Hohenfels, Germany.

Although most people his age are slowing their pace, the experienced mountain climber said he keeps coming back for the troops.

“This is a voluntary retiree recall, and I do it for all the men and women out there (who are serving),” he said.

Bernhard is a flight surgeon and will be responsible for caring for Soldiers on flight status. He will conduct annual physicals and care for pilots and others when they are sick or injured.

Retired Command Sgt. Maj. Samuel Rhodes, a former 192nd Infantry Brigade sergeant major, met Bernhard in 2005 during a deployment to Iraq.

Rhodes said others should draw inspiration from Bernhard.

“He’s … still serving, and most of us are under 50 and out of the Army,” Rhodes said. “I would say we still have a lot more to give, and we can use him as an example. He’s a role model for all of us who have retired.”

Rhodes said Bernhard came to him after losing power and heat in his tent during the deployment.

Bernhard said he had always wanted to join the military like his father.

“He joined the Army Air Corps (as a flight surgeon) during the second World War and actually fought against members of his own family, because we are German family,” Bernhard said. “I always wanted to follow in his footsteps.”

Bernhard entered the Marines in 1950 under the Platoon Leaders Course during his freshman year in college but was discharged because of an injury.

“I was disappointed, but my father said it was an opportunity to follow him into medicine and be the third doctor in the family,” Bernhard said.

During medical school, he entered the Navy Reserve under the Berry Plan, which deferred his military training while in school. During his fellowship year at Dartmouth Medical School, Bernhard was activated to work in anesthesia for two years.

He later took advantage of an Army Reserve program, called the First Army Augmentation Detachment, that allowed him to become a flight surgeon.

He also completed air assault training, mountain warfare training and earned the expert field medical badge while in the Reserves.

As a civilian, he retired in 1998 from the University of Maryland Shock Trauma Center, where he directed anesthesia for 10 years.

In the military, he has retired four times – once from the National Guard in 1998 and then again after a 2005 deployment to Iraq, a 2006 deployment to Afghanistan and a 2007 rotation in Germany, which he extended four times.

Bernhard continues to work part time as a civilian flight surgeon for the Maryland Army National Guard and wasn’t surprised when he received orders to report to Fort Benning last month. His orders are for 171 days.

“I knew they needed someone,” he said. And although he will miss his wife, dog and hobbies while away, Bernhard said, “I’m excited about going because it’s a job that needs to be done.”

Bernhard, who left for Germany Friday, said this will be his last military tour and plans to retire for the fifth time in August or September.

Rhodes said Bernhard is an example for everyone.

“Some people are just trying … to not get in any environment where they could get hurt,” Rhodes said. “But (Bernhard) is going out there saying, ‘What can I do now?'”

Engineer Soldier awarded Silver Star

SCHOFIELD BARRACKS, Hawaii (March 10, 2010) — Sgt. Scott D. Brooks, 82nd Engineer Support Company, 65th Engineer Battalion, 130th Engineer Brigade, received the Silver Star medal from Maj. Gen. Michael J. Terry, commanding general, 8th Theater Sustainment Command, during an award ceremony here, March 10.

Brooks received the award for his actions on June 25, 2007, where his bravery resulted in saving the lives of five Iraqi policemen and untold American Soldiers following a vehicle-borne improvised explosive device that struck the walls of Forward Operating Base Summerall in Iraq.

Congratulations to Sgt. Scott Brooks for receiving the Silver Star. Your bravery, as well as the bravery of all those in the US Military, is greatly appreciated.