Photo By Michael Strasser | Fort Drum and 10th Mountain Division (LI) community members celebrated the...... read more read more
FORT DRUM, N.Y. (July 1, 2024) -- From his early childhood days playing “Army” in his backyard and inspired by family who had served, Michael Ollis would grow up to become a real-life hero himself as a member of the 10th Mountain Division (LI).
In August 2006, Ollis enlisted in the Army at age 17 after excelling in the Junior Reserve Officers’ Training Corps program at the Michael J. Petrides School on Staten Island.
He completed basic training at Fort Benning, Georgia, and was assigned to the 1st Armored Division in Baumholder, Germany. In April 2008, Ollis deployed to Iraq and was promoted to sergeant before the combat tour ended.
Ollis moved to Fort Campbell, Kentucky, where he served as a fire team leader with 2nd Battalion, 502nd Infantry Regiment, 101st Airborne Division. He completed Air Assault School before deploying to Afghanistan with his unit. Stationed in the Kandahar Province, the unit played a critical role in training members of the Afghan National Army.
Enemy encounters on patrols, roadside improvised explosive devices, and attacks on their forward operating bases became part of the norm for Ollis and his teammates. During Operation Dragon Strike, he conducted several air-assault raids on enemy positions and led his team through numerous firefights.
Ollis returned to Fort Campbell in May 2011, but he was soon reassigned to the 10th Mountain Division (LI). He arrived at Fort Drum in November to join the 2nd Battalion, 22nd Infantry Regiment, 1st Brigade Combat Team. Long ruck marches in the rain and snow didn’t bother Ollis, knowing that his leave could be well-spent visiting family and friends on Staten Island.
In July 2012, Ollis graduated from Ranger School at Fort Benning, Georgia, and almost immediately after, he went to Airborne School to earn the Basic Parachute Badge.
Newly promoted as a staff sergeant, Ollis was given a squad to lead within B Company’s 2nd Platoon. He made it a priority that they develop family-like cohesion ahead of their deployment to the Ghazni Province, Afghanistan, in January 2013.
By all accounts, Ollis was accustomed to the operational tempo of a combat deployment and the inherent dangers in a volatile environment. But this time, he also savored the responsibilities of leading younger Soldiers, who found it inspiring to watch their squad leader commit additional years to the Army during a re-enlistment ceremony.
In his downtime, Ollis completed the requirements for induction into the Sgt. Audie Murphy Club – a prestigious noncommissioned officers’ organization – and enrolled in online college classes.
Toward the end of the deployment, with Soldiers envisioning a homecoming and return to normalcy, 2nd Platoon received orders that extended their stay in Afghanistan until late October 2013. The Soldiers had experienced a few months of relatively low enemy contact, but they were moving to a highly targeted forward operating base (FOB) in Logar Province.
Coincidentally, just before the Soldiers were scheduled to leave for FOB Shank, their base was shaken by rocket-propelled grenades and small-arms fire. They repelled the Taliban attack with no casualties.
Ollis and his Soldiers arrived at FOB Ghazni on Aug. 26, 2013, where they were scheduled to spend three days before finishing their 10-month deployment at FOB Shank.
FOB Ghani was populated by international allies and commanded by the Polish military. Ollis and his Soldiers took advantage of the large gym, dining facility, and the Morale, Welfare and Recreation center there where they could call, text and email family and friends.
Ollis was inside the recreational facility on Aug. 28, 2013, when a concentrated enemy attack of vehicle-borne improvised explosive devices, indirect fire, and indirect fire against the FOB began. Soldiers were ordered to move to bunkers where Ollis checked on his squad’s safety. Ollis took two Soldiers back to the MWR – which sustained heavy damage when a truck carrying more than a ton of explosives rammed into the nearby perimeter – to look for survivors.
After they regrouped in the bunker, Ollis decided to move toward the enemy force and link up with coalition forces to repulse the enemy from further penetrating the base. According to his award citation, Ollis and his comrades moved from position to position engaging the enemy with accurate and effective fire.
When insurgents breached the base, 2nd Lt. Karol Cierpica, a Polish officer in NATO’s International Provincial Reconstruction Team, was hit by shrapnel. Both Cierpica and Ollis were moving along the perimeter, when an insurgent wearing a suicide vest headed toward them.
Ollis positioned himself in front of Cierpica to engage the threat with his weapon. The insurgent was incapacitated but still able to detonate his vest, as Ollis was mortally wounded from the explosion.
For his actions, Ollis posthumously received the Silver Star, which was upgraded to the Distinguished Service Cross in June 2019.
On Sept. 26, 2019, an indoor shooting range and training facility at Fort Drum was rededicated as the Staff Sgt. Michael H. Ollis Weapons Training Center, following the award upgrade. The facility, previously named Range 2, was first dedicated to Ollis in June 2015.
During the week of Mountainfest in 2021, Ollis was inducted into the 10th Mountain Division (LI) Warrior Legend Hall of Fame. Robert Ollis accepted the Hall of Fame medallion and certificate on his son’s behalf.
“Michael always wanted to be a Soldier,” he said. “Michael, about a month before he died, re-enlisted for six more years. His words to me when he called was that he would stay as long as he was healthy, and if he could stay with the 10th Mountain that would even be better. The 10th Mountain really, really was his home.”
| Date Taken: | 07.01.2024 |
| Date Posted: | 07.01.2024 11:41 |
| Story ID: | 475286 |
| Location: | FORT DRUM, NEW YORK, US |
| Web Views: | 28 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
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