# U.S. 1st Bn 3 SFG recieving OP Medusa award from Canada



## The Bread Guy (22 May 2012)

Just got this e-mail, announcing that Canada's Governor General is headed to Fort Bragg to present a unit award to the 1st Battalion, 3rd Special Forces Group for their work in OP Medusa:





> Subject:  Awarding of the Commander in Chief Unit Commendation from the Governor General and Commander in Chief of Canada to the 1st Battalion, 3rd Special Forces Group at Fort Bragg, North Carolina.
> 
> Significance: This Commendation is the first valor award EVER presented to a foreign military by the Canadian Government.
> 
> ...


Not the first time ever a GG was out of Canada during a Royal visit, but nothing on the GG's web site about this award yet.  There is this, saying the GG's said farewell to the Royal party as they head off to Regina, so he could be available.


----------



## The Bread Guy (22 May 2012)

This just in from the GG's office - it's happening, but it's not the GG going to Ft. Bragg:





> .... His Excellency the Right Honourable David Johnston, Governor General and Commander-in-Chief of Canada, will not be in attendance tomorrow. On behalf of the Governor General, Lieutenant-General Stuart Beare, C.M.M., M.S.M., C.D., Commander Canadian Expeditionary Force Command, will present this honour to the battalion ....


You read it here first, folks!


----------



## jollyjacktar (22 May 2012)

Nice to see the official recognition, well deserved too.  What is a shame is that it has taken so long to get there.  It's hard to say better late than never as that almost condones the snail pace.


----------



## Old Sweat (22 May 2012)

I infoed an old friend who had a lot of SF time starting with his first tour in 3rd Group. (He had Barry Sadler, who wrote the ballad of the Green Berets, in his A Team in Vietnam, so he goes back a long way.) He  was impressed.


----------



## tomahawk6 (22 May 2012)

Nice recognition  

http://www.soc.mil/UNS/Releases/2012/May/120515-02.html

UPDATED MEDIA ADVISORY: Canadian Commander-in-Chief Unit Commendation presented for the 1st time to SF Soldiers 

U.S. Army Special Operation Command Public Affairs Office

 FORT BRAGG, N.C. (USASOC News Service, May 15, 2012) – The Canadian Commander-in-Chief Unit Commendation will be presented to Soldiers from 1st Battalion, 3rd Special Forces Group (Airborne) by Lt. Gen. Stuart Beare, Commander, Canadian Expeditionary Force Command, for their valorous actions in support of the Canadian-led Operation MEDUSA, Kandahar Province, Afghanistan during August and September 2006.

 The ceremony will take place on May 23 at 11 a.m. at the John F. Kennedy Auditorium, U.S. Army John F. Kennedy Special Warfare Center and School, Fort Bragg, N.C. 

 The CinC award has only been awarded to six Canadian Force units.  This is the first time this award will be presented to a foreign unit.

 The Commander-in-Chief Unit Commendation may be awarded to any unit or sub-unit of the Canadian Forces, or to any similar organization of a foreign armed force working with or in conjunction with the Canadian Force that has performed an extraordinary deed or activity of a rare high standard in extremely hazardous circumstances.

FOR THE MEDIA: A media opportunity is scheduled with the Canadian Expeditionary Force Commander, Lt. Gen. Stuart Beare, and U.S. Army Special Forces Col. Don Bolduc, the battalion commander in charge of 1st Battalion, 3rd Special Forces Group (Airborne) during Operation MEDUSA, for approximately 30 minutes, May 23, at 10:15 a.m.  The media opportunity will be held at the USA JFK Special Warfare Center and School.  

 Media are invited to cover the ceremony, which begins immediately following the media opportunity.  Media should meet USASOC PAO at 8:45 a.m. on Wednesday, May 23 at Stryker Golf Course on Bragg Boulevard. The media convoy will depart Stryker no later than 9 a.m. USASOC PAO representatives will also escort live trucks in that convoy.

 Media planning to attend must contact the USASOC Public Affairs Office at (910) 432-6005, or, e-mail pao@soc.mil. Media should provide after-hours contact information, to include e-mail addresses, so we may keep you advised of any changes to the program schedule.

 Members of the media who wish to cover the ceremony must register with the USASOC PAO by May 22 before 1:00 p.m. Please provide the number of news team members, video/still photographers, live trucks and other special equipment you plan to bring to the ceremony. Media planning live coverage during or after the program must provide that information to the USASOC PAO when responding to this invitation. Special needs or interview requests should be submitted at this time as well.


----------



## The Bread Guy (23 May 2012)

.... from his web page:


> His Excellency the Right Honourable David Johnston, Governor General and Commander-in-Chief of Canada, announces the awarding and presentation of the Commander-in-Chief Unit Commendation to the 1st Battalion, 3rd Special Forces Group (United States Army). On behalf of the Governor General, Lieutenant-General Stuart Beare, C.M.M., M.S.M., C.D., Commander Canadian Expeditionary Force Command, presented this honour to the battalion during a ceremony at Fort Bragg, North Carolina, on May 23, 2012.
> 
> 1st Battalion, 3rd Special Forces Group (United States Army)
> Fort Bragg, North Carolina, U.S.A.
> ...



And this from The Canadian Press:





> An American special forces contingent has become the first non-Canadian recipient of the country's highest citation for military units.
> 
> The 1st Battalion, 3rd Special Forces Group has won the Governor General's Commander-in-Chief Commendation for its support of Canadian troops during a landmark battle in Afghanistan almost six years ago.
> 
> ...


----------



## tomahawk6 (25 May 2012)

There is a photo or two at the link,but one is just too embarrassing for me to post.Our once proud Army Blue Uniform now is well just plain embarassing. 


http://fayobserver.com/articles/2012/05/23/1179747?sac=fo.military

A group of Fort Bragg Green Berets on Wednesday became the first non-Canadian military unit to receive that country's highest team recognition.

Seventy-four members of the 1st Battalion, 3rd Special Forces Group were presented the Commander-in-Chief Unit Commendation for their participation in a major 2006 battle near Kandahar, Afghanistan.

A Canadian-led NATO mission called Operation Medusa cleared a Taliban stronghold in a district near Kandahar over several days of September 2006. More than 1,400 Taliban fighters held the district, using schools to train insurgents.

The commendation is Canada's equivalent of the U.S. Presidential Unit Citation.

Special Forces Lt. Col. Jared Hill remembers a call during the battle describing the large opposing force, using the code word "predator."

"We've got predator up, and we can't count them all," Hill was told, but the soldiers persevered. "These kind of men get beat up, yet volunteer to go back in the same fight the next day."

The mission was the largest operation of the war at that point and was seen as a possible turning point in Afghanistan.

"It prevented the fall of the city of Kandahar to the Taliban," said Lt. Gen. Stuart Beare, commander of the Canadian Expeditionary Force Command, who presented the commendation to the soldiers during a ceremony Wednesday at the John F. Kennedy Auditorium on Fort Bragg.

The U.S. soldiers who participated in the operation helped flank the Taliban and gain high ground that allowed troops to call in airstrikes, clear insurgents from the area and pave the way for government services to take root.

The gains made then are still evident today, Beare said. Afghan civilians have moved back into the homes they deserted when the Taliban held power, he said.

American, Canadian, Dutch, Danish, British and Afghan troops participated in the operation, in which an estimated 500 insurgents were killed. Twelve Canadian troops and three Afghan soldiers died.

The Canadian commendation has been awarded only six other times since 1992. It recognizes any unit assigned to Canadian command "that has performed an extraordinary deed or activity of a rare high standard in extremely hazardous circumstances."

The award includes a gold-embossed scroll, a pennant and an insignia bearing a lion.
Staff writer John Ramsey can be reached at ramseyj@fayobserver.com or 486-3574.


----------



## Rifleman62 (25 May 2012)

tomahawk6 beat me to the posting as I was compressing the photos. I will not post a similar photo.

As a side bar, I recently attended a multiple Purple Heart Ceremony, attended by the Secretary of the Army, at Fort Sam. The three very young Army Rangers, one in the new uniform, looked very, very spiffy in their Blues. Their buddy, who received the award, credited them with saving his life by securing the DZ for the medivac under heavy fire.

http://www.soc.mil/UNS/Releases/2012/May/120525-01.html

RELEASE NUMBER: 120525-01
DATE POSTED: MAY 25, 2012

*Green Berets first foreign force to receive Canada's highest unit commendation*

By Staff Sgt. Marcus Butler - USASFC (A) Public Affairs

FORT BRAGG, N.C. (USASOC News Service, May 25, 2012) – U.S. Army Green Berets from 1st Battalion, 3rd Special Forces Group (Airborne) became the first non-Canadian unit to receive that country's highest unit commendation during an awards ceremony at John F. Kennedy Auditorium on Fort Bragg, May 23.

Forty-six Green Berets from 1st Bn., 3rd SFG (A), were recognized by Lt. Gen. Stuart Beare, commander of the Canadian Expeditionary Force Command, with the Commander-in-Chief Unit Commendation for their heroic actions during Operation MEDUSA, a September 2006 battle in Afghanistan's Kandahar Province.

In total, 74 service members from Special Operations Task Force – 31, received the award, including Air Force Joint Terminal Attack Controllers, or JTACs, who were attached to the SOTF and working with Special Forces A-Teams on the ground.

Operation MEDUSA was a Canadian-led NATO mission aimed at rooting out Taliban forces operating in the Kandahar Provinces of Panjwai and Zhari districts. This operation was the most significant land battle undertaken by NATO at the time and it was a first for International Security Assistant Forces on a large scale that encompassed Afghan National Army and several NATO nations. 

Green Beret Master Sgt. Jerad Eldred, senior medical advisor within 3rd SFG (A), recalls the battle and the enemy threat in that area. 
"While on patrol, we were held up inside of a house where we had full view of the enemy's main supply line and we set up an observation post," Eldred said. "After further observation we saw the enemy conducting resupply operations and we then eliminated that threat, unknowing that there was a significantly larger force behind them." 

That significant threat was also seen by Predator, an unmanned aerial vehicle, which was being monitored by the Advanced Operations Base 330 commander, then-Major Jared Hill.   

"When I made the call for a situation report, the answer I received was that there are too many… we can’t count them all," said Hill, now a lieutenant colonel.  

The Operation began on Aug. 26 and lasted until Sept. 14. During that time the combined NATO forces fought an estimated enemy strength of 1,400, with approximately 550 combatants killed and two captured. 

Beare put into perspective the importance of the operation and what was accomplished by its successful outcome.
"Operation MEDUSA was vital to the success of NATO forces in the area. The success of this mission prevented the fall of Kandahar and struck a significant blow to the Taliban forces in the area," said Beare. 

Besides receiving the award and recognition Eldred has his personal reasons why this operation was vital to their overall mission. 
"It’s not about what rewards that you receive but it really shows that we can trust our partner forces to watch our back in the fight and we have theirs," said Eldred. 

"The unique thing about this operation was the cooperation of each force that was involved. It was the shoulder-to-shoulder type of fighting that truly was the key to the success of this operation," said Eldred. "Personally, I know if it was not for our partner forces in this battle, I would not have been able to make it home to see my son born."

The award citation reads that after 1st Bn., 3rd SFG (A) completed their initial objectives, they willingly engaged a much larger enemy force to secure the Canadian Battle Group's flank and prevent the enemy from staging an effective counter offensive. Outnumbered and facing a well-prepared enemy, they were relentless in their assault and eventually captured the position after days of intense fighting.  

"Our heartfelt thanks go out to the people of Canada and our Canadian brothers-in-arms for rendering this singular honor to these American warriors," said Maj. Gen. Charles T. Cleveland, incoming commanding general for U.S. Army Special Operations Command. "This day will be inscribed forever in the history for not only to this storied unit but will be added as a singular achievement of the U.S. Army Special Forces Regiment."

--usasoc--

Photo Caption: Lt. Gen. Stuart Beare, commander of the Canadian Expeditionary Force, pins on the Canadian Commander-in-Chief Unit Commendation May 23, as part of a ceremony recognizing 1st Battalion, 3rd Special Forces Group for its role in a September 2006 battle in Afghanistan's Kandahar Province. (Photo by Staff Sgt. Marcus Butler)


----------



## The Bread Guy (25 May 2012)

tomahawk6 said:
			
		

> There is a photo or two at the link,but one is just too embarrassing for me to post.Our once proud Army Blue Uniform now is well just plain embarassing.


Thanks, again, for sharing - I have to say, the bloused boots with the blue pants are a bit jarring take a bit to get used to for me, too.


----------



## jollyjacktar (25 May 2012)

milnews.ca said:
			
		

> Thanks, again, for sharing - I have to say, the bloused boots with the blue pants are a bit jarring take a bit to get used to for me, too.


I think you were right with jarring.


----------



## Journeyman (25 May 2012)

In the one pic (showing the boots, not posted here), the expression on the face of USSF Lt-Col looking at the RCAF guy is priceless --- "This Canuck only has that red ribbon with some white stripes; I wonder what that was for..."

 ;D


----------



## PMedMoe (26 May 2012)

jollyjacktar said:
			
		

> I think you were right with jarring.



 :ditto:  Looks horrible....


----------



## The Bread Guy (29 May 2012)

A slightly different version of the USSF feature shared earlier in the thread, this one from the CEFCOM Info-machine:





> The Green Berets of the 1st Battalion, 3rd Special Forces Group (Airborne) have the rare honour of being the first non-Canadian unit to receive the Commander-in-Chief Unit Commendation.
> 
> Representing Governor General David Johnston in a ceremony held at Fort Bragg, North Carolina, on 23 May 2012, Lieutenant-General Stuart Beare, Commander of Canadian Expeditionary Force Command, presented the scroll, pennant and personal insignia of Canada’s highest honour for valour in combat by a military unit to current and former members of the Green Beret battalion.
> 
> ...


----------



## Rheostatic (29 May 2012)

2 more photos here.


----------



## 57Chevy (30 May 2012)

Shared with provisions of The Copyright Act

I'm very happy to see this. Many  :nod:

Governor General's military citation presented to U.S. Army Green Beret unit
Murray Brewster, The Canadian Press 23 May
http://www.winnipegfreepress.com/canada/governor-generals-military-citation-presented-to-us-army-green-beret-unit-153197295.html

OTTAWA - An American special forces contingent has become the first non-Canadian recipient of the country's highest citation for military units.

The 1st Battalion, 3rd Special Forces Group has won the Governor General's Commander-in-Chief Commendation for its support of Canadian troops during a landmark battle in Afghanistan almost six years ago.

It's an honour that has only been given to six Canadian battalions since its inception in 2002.

The U.S. Army Green Berets fought to protect the flanks of a Canadian battle group as it pushed deep into the Taliban redoubt of Pashmul during Operation Medusa in 2006.

The American unit's exploits in taking and holding a hill known as Sperwan Ghar during the battle are chronicled in a new book, Lions of Kandahar, which was released recently to much fanfare in U.S. military circles.

The book not only offers a glimpse inside the secret world of commando operations, but sheds new light on the battle. 

The commendation was presented to the Green Berets at a special ceremony in Fort Bragg, N.C., by Lt.-Gen. Stuart Beare, head of Canada's overseas command.

He called it a rare honour and compared it to the U.S. Presidential Unit Citation awarded to the 2nd Battalion, Princess Patricia's Canadian Light Infantry during the Korean War.

"This is really quite extraordinary," Beare said in a telephone interview. "Col. Omar Lavoie, as you know, was commander of the battle group back then and he made sure I came down here with a message, written by his hand, to pass on to these folks (because) he and his troops knew how much of a difference these folks made."

The soldiers being recognized belonged to the battalion's Task Force 31, which fought a series of pitched battles with the resurgent Taliban in the summer of 2006, a time when militants threatened to march on Kandahar city.

About 40 members of the unit were present for the ceremony.

Special Forces operations are cloaked in secrecy and accounts of their actions sometimes take years to surface in the U.S., with the notable exception being the U.S. Navy Seal team raid that killed Osama bin Laden. Canadian missions are never publicized, even years after the fact.

At the time of the battle, the role of U.S. special forces was described as acting as a screen to prevent Taliban from escaping across the border into Pakistan.

But the new book paints a harrowing account of a handful of American soldiers clinging to a barren mountain side 40 kilometres southwest of Kandahar city trying to prevent an insurgent counter-attack that could have driven into the Canadian flank, which had already been weakened by a bloody, failed river crossing and a friendly fire attack.

The Green Berets have "a story that needs to be told and they're well-suited to tell it," said Beare.

The operation, which extended from Aug. 26 to Sept. 17, 2006, was the biggest land battle NATO had fought to that time in Afghanistan and resulted in the deaths of 12 Canadian soldiers and three Afghan service members. Ten members of the U.S. Special Forces were wounded.

As part of the background material released Wednesday, the Canadian army said 550 insurgents were killed during the fighting out of a total estimated force of 1,400.

There's been a simmering debate among historians about Taliban casualty figures. The number used in public has fluctuated over the years with references by Canadian military and political leaders ranging up to 1,000 deaths.


----------



## 57Chevy (30 May 2012)

Lions of Kandahar
by Rusty Bradley & Kevin Maurer

Book Review here:
http://itunes.apple.com/us/book/lions-of-kandahar/id422546630?mt=11


----------

