The President of the United States of America, authorized by Executive Order 11046, 24 August 1962, takes pleasure in presenting the Bronze Star Medal to Sergeant First Class Andrew B. Rodrick, United States Army, for exceptionally meritorious service while serving with Operational Detachment Alpha 014 (ODA-014), 1st Battalion, 10th Special Forces Group (Airborne), Combined Joint Special Operations Task Force-Arabian Peninsula, in support of Operation IRAQI FREEDOM, from 12 December 2004 to 15 April 2005. His outstanding dedication to duty during combat operations in Iraq contributed to the overwhelming success of the Command’s mission. His actions are in keeping with the finest traditions of military service and reflect distinct credit upon himself, Special Operations Command Central, and the United States Army.
NARRATIVE TO ACCOMPANY AWARD:
Sergeant First Class Andrew B. Rodrick distinguished himself by exceptionally meritorious conduct in the performance of outstanding service to the United States as a Special Forces Communication Sergeant for Operational Detachment Alpha 014 (ODA-014), Baghdad, Iraq, from 12 November 2004 to 15 April 2005, during Operation Iraqi Freedom. Sergeant First Class Rodrick’s contributions as the detachment’s subject matter expert in Advanced Special Operations (ASO) allowed the detachment to successfully operate in the extremely challenging, non-permissive environment of Iraq’s al Anbar Province. His outstanding work directly led to over 30 joint targeted raids conducted throughout the detachment’s Area of Operations (AO) by U.S. Army and Marine Corps forces, resulting in the detention of at least ten insurgent leaders including AO DENVER high value targets number six and eight. In the days prior to Iraq’s national elections on 30 January 2004, information derived from his ASO activities enabled the detachment’s capture and detention of two Ba’athist Anti-Iraqi Forces leaders in the city of Hadithah. Their detention had a significant impact in disrupting insurgent anti-election operations in Hadithah, contributing to lower attacks in the city on election day. His knowledge and intelligence sharing of insurgent targets and activities throughout the AO directly contributed to Task Force 6-26 operations in Rawah, Hadithah, and Hit resulting in the capture of several insurgents tied to Abu Musab Al-Zarqawi, and effectively denying sanctuary to him and his network in the detachment’s AO. Sergeant First Class Rodrick took part in 21 offensive operations conducted by the detachment as both an assaulter and as an expert in sensitive site exploitation (SSE). His in-depth knowledge of insurgent organizations within the AO allowed the detachment’s interrogators to effectively steer tactical interrogations. On three occasions these interrogations yielded follow-on insurgent targets conducted that same night, resulting in three additional insurgents captured and even greater disruption of the enemy in the detachment’s AO. Upon the ODA receiving a change of mission to conduct combined military operations in Baghdad with the new Iraqi Army (IA), he continued to excel by hand-selecting and training Iraqi Soldiers to provide an urban reconnaissance capability for the 1st Battalion, 2d Brigade, 6th Iraqi Army Division. He developed selection criteria and an extensive program of instruction to train 12 Iraqi Soldiers who showed the greatest potential to form the cornerstone of the battalion’s targeting capability by conducting plain-clothes reconnaissance and surveillance operations. These specially trained reconnaissance Soldiers became the eyes and ears for the battalion by collecting tactical intelligence and giving the Battalion Commander the ability to action insurgent targets in his AO. This capability allowed one of only four battlespace-owning IA battalions in Baghdad to successfully counter the insurgency and create a more stable environment in its AO, facilitating the transfer of authority to the Iraqi Army and Government of Iraq. His actions are in keeping with the finest traditions of military service and reflect distinct credit upon himself, the Special Operations Command Central, and the United States Army.