| May 02, 2007
BY Sgt. Nicole Kojetin, 1st Cavalry Division Public Affairs BAGHDAD - "Men, you have one second in your life where you can decide if you are going to be a coward or if you are going to fight. The time to decide is now." That sentence is something that Maj. James "Jim" Gant, who serves as thechief of the Iraqi National Police, Quick Reaction Force Battalion Transition Team, tells his policemen all the time, encouraging them to fight for what they believe in. Though most the time he was talking in generic terms, this time he knew the fight was waiting for them. For six weeks his patrol of three armored high mobility multipurpose wheeled vehicles and 23 "soft-shelled" national police pick-up trucks had been getting in fire fights with an organized insurgent force in an area between Balad and Baghdad. On Dec. 11, his patrol was finally on their way back home. Maj. Gant knew there would be a grand finale. "We took frequent trips back and forth in the area and the engagements kept getting bigger," the Las Cruces, N.M., native said. "They knew that we were going to leave. They are a determined enemy force. They wanted to give us a going away present, and we definitely wanted to receive it." His actions, during that gift, resulted in him earning the Silver Star, which will be awarded on May 3 at a Iraqi National Police station near Forward Operating Base Prosperity. The Silver Star is the third highest award given for valor in the face of the enemy. It is given to American heroes. Maj. Gant knows four Soldiers who have earned Silver Stars; two died for them. He said heroes are everywhere, it just depends on if they get the chance to show it. "There are a lot of very good Soldiers, very brave Soldiers that have never had the opportunity to show it," he said. "As good as you are, you don't control the enemy. I have been blessed since 2001, since our nation has been at war to fight with incredible warriors and heroes." He was given his change to prove himself on that fateful day in December.
The enemy on that stretch of road was well trained and waiting, Maj. Gant said. But he knew his crew was ready. After spending 17 years in the Army, he should know. "I had a really well trained transition team," he said. That confidence was also extended to his Iraqi brethren as well, with good reason.... "We try to maintain contact with the enemy as long as possible and kill as many as we can," Maj. Gant said. "We were going to do some serious damage that day. "It is easy to sit in a room in safety and talk about it," he said. "I came here to fight. I came here to kill the enemy. I knew at the time what a huge engagement it was... I also had a huge concern for my team and my Iraqis, because I love these guys. I wanted to ensure that we didn't take unnecessary risks or have unnecessary casualties."... This is when Maj. Gant received word that a woman in the civilian vehicle had been severely injured in the first blast. Still under heavy small arms fire in a hasty perimeter, he got out and tried to perform first aid on her. "She didn't want me touch her. She was going to die and she didn't want me to touch her," Maj. Gant said. His Iraqi counterpart, consoled the woman saying, "It's OK. He is my brother." She then allowed him to apply tourniquets to both of her severely wounded legs. There was also a little girl in the vehicle. Gant, a family man with two kids of his own back in North Carolina, Tristen, 9, and Scout, 7, wanted to keep this child safe. "I realized that we might all die today, but this little girl will not," he said, talking about how he put the child in his up-armored vehicle. "We had some sporadic small arms fire after that, but we had broken their back. They wanted us to stop there. "I later found out that the women lived, and the little girl," he said with a smile, "was still afraid of U.S. forces, but she was really small... maybe one. She didn't understand; (she) just knew that someone had grabbed her from her mom and dad. She didn't know that it was for her own protection. I hope that one day, her parents tell her what happened that day."... When they finally made it back that day, they were met with a celebration. There were more than 200 Commandos singing and bathing the road with goat's blood and planting bloody handprints all over there war-torn, bullet-ridden vehicles. There were celebrating. "I will never forget them hugging and kissing us, their brothers in arms," he said of their return. "They do this in celebration, when they think we gave our lives for them, or could be dead." Though nearly six months has passed since that battle occurred, Maj. Gant can tell the story of the battle like it was yesterday. Only two Soldiers remain on his crew that were with him that day, most of the American Soldiers have rotated back to the United States, but he remembers all of his team. "On that day, there were no Americans. There were no Iraqis, no whites and no blacks. There were no Sunnis, Shias, Christians. There was just a group of warriors working and fighting together," he said. "All the men I fought with that day showed incredible courage and bravery. That was one of the highlights of my life; working with those men that day." [here]
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Chief Warrant Officer Jonathan Harris receives a handshake from Maj. Gen. Jeffrey Schloesser, commander, 101st Airborne Division, after being presented the Silver Star during an award ceremony at Combined Joint Task Force-101 Headquarters on Nov. 28. Photo by Spc. George Welcome, 101st CAB Public Affairs
