Photo By Sgt. Maj. Tanya Lumbard | Col. Lou Lartigue, commander of the 4th Advise and Assist Brigade, 3rd Infantry...... read more read more
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CAMP RAMADI, Iraq – “This formation is full of heroes,” said Col. Lou Lartigue, commander of the 4th Advise and Assist Brigade, 3rd Infantry Division, as he spoke to soldiers with the 3rd Battalion, 15th Infantry Regiment at Camp Ramadi, Iraq, May 27.
Two such heroes – both infantrymen with B Company,—were recognized for their efforts to defeat an enemy attack, May 10, and were each awarded the Army Commendation Medal with Valor in front of their peers.
“I was pulling air guard and I noticed a man standing on the edge of the road with his hand in a bag,” said Sgt. Robert Sacco, a Haverhill, Mass., native who was on patrol from Camp Taqaddum to Camp Ramadi with other members of the Habbaniyah Police Team.
“Most people normally carry a bag from the handle, but he actually had his hand completely submerged into the bag. I knew something wasn’t right,” he said.
Sacco watched as the man removed an RKG-3 from the bag and threw the grenade at the fourth vehicle. Sacco fired back.
“I missed,” he laughed, “The guys still give me a hard time about that.”
The grenade detonated on the fourth vehicle and the attacker turned and ran.
“As the dust settled, we engaged again,” he said.
Spc. Glen Ballough, a Lake Mary, Fla., native, who was the gunner in the second truck, helped Sacco engage the enemy and defeated the insurgent who almost claimed their lives.
“At that point in time the training just takes over,” said Sacco, who explained that his attention to detail was learned behavior from experience and from sharpening infantry skills at his home station, Fort Stewart, Ga. Both Sacco and Ballough were assigned to the 4th Battalion, 64th Armored Regiment, 4th Brigade Combat Team, 3rd Inf. Div. and deployed together in 2007.
“We took a lot of contact, but never from an RKG-3,” said Sacco who also explained that during Operation New Dawn the threat of violence is now much lower.
“But you can’t take anything lightly,” said Ballough, “You have to be ready, at all times. The enemy wants you to think that there is [no longer a threat], but there still is.”
The two advised other soldiers to stay alert while travelling in Iraq.
“You never know when that opportunity will come,” Sacco said.
Two Combat Infantryman Badges awarded to Pfc. Alex Wenrick and Cpl. Justin Stanley, and nine soldiers received the Combat Action Badge for their actions during the same incident.
| Date Taken: | 05.27.2011 |
| Date Posted: | 05.31.2011 01:02 |
| Story ID: | 71339 |
| Location: | BAGHDAD, IQ |
| Web Views: | 247 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
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