The President of the United States of America takes pleasure in presenting the Silver Star to Captain Daniel A. Strelkauskas, United States Marine Corps, for conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity in action against the enemy as Mission Commander, Marine Special Operations Company H, Second Marine Special Operations Battalion, U.S. Marine Corps Forces, Special Operations Command, in support of Operation ENDURING FREEDOM, on 26 June 2008. While conducting a time-sensitive mission, the dismounted patrol Captain Strelkauskas was leading came under heavy machine gun and sniper fire from entrenched positions. He began immediate actions to move his team to cover as the patrol began taking casualties. With complete disregard for his own life, and under heavy fire from more than a dozen positions, Captain Strelkauskas ran deeper into the kill zone to drag a wounded Marine across open terrain to a covered position. With multiple fragmentation wounds to his hands and rounds ricocheting near his position, and with the enemy machine guns delivering devastating fire and preventing the movement of casualties, he ordered a critical Close Air Support deployment of 2,000-pound bombs well within danger close parameters. This provided enough suppression of the enemy force to allow the relocation of the wounded to a consolidation point where five friendly Wounded-in-Action and one friendly Killed-in-Action were evacuated. Upon completion of the evacuation, Captain Strelkauskas coordinated follow on air strikes resulting in an estimated 40 enemy killed in action, including several mid-level Taliban leaders. Through his tremendous courage and extraordinary battlefield leadership, he guided his team out of a complex and well-orchestrated ambush executed by an entrenched enemy. By his bold initiative, undaunted courage, and complete dedication to duty, Captain Strelkauskas reflected great credit upon himself and upheld the highest traditions of the Marine Corps and of the United States Naval Service.