The President of the United States of America, authorized by Act of Congress July 9, 1918 (amended by an act of July 25, 1963), takes pleasure in presenting the Silver Star to Master Sergeant Anthony M. Siriwardene, United States Army, for gallantry in action while serving as a member of the Combined Joint Special Operations Task Force – Afghanistan in support of Operation ENDURING FREEDOM. Sergeant Siriwardene distinguished himself by exceptional valor under fire and total disregard for personal well-being during combat operations from 7 August 2005 to 9 August 2005. Sergeant Siriwardene’s personal courage and commitment to mission accomplishment in a combat zone, under the most extreme of circumstances, greatly contributed to the success of Operation ENDURING FREEDOM. His actions are in keeping with the finest traditions of military heroism and reflect distinct credit upon himself, Special Operations Task Force – 31, the Combined Joint Special Operations Task Force – Afghanistan, Special Operations Command Central, and the United States Army.
NARRATIVE TO ACCOMPANY AWARD:
Sergeant First Class Anthony M. Siriwardene, United States (US) Army, heroically distinguished himself by exceptionally valorous conduct in the face of the enemy of the US as the Engineer Sergeant, Operational Detachment Alpha (ODA) 316, Special Operations Task Force – 31, Kandahar Airfield, Afghanistan, in support of Operation ENDURING FREEDOM (OEF) from 7 August 2005 to 9 August 2005. Sergeant Siriwardene distinguished himself in seven fierce enemy engagements with a well trained and aggressive enemy, during a time span of 56 hours, while operating as the driver of the first vehicle of the element. While conducting operations in Zabol Province, Afghanistan, Sergeant Siriwardene’s calm manner and tactical competence under fire were imperative to the detachment’s survival. During the second attack in Buka Ghar Valley, Sergeant Siriwardene maneuvered his vehicle so the gunner could place heavy fire on well placed machine gun positions. He and another member dismounted the vehicle and advanced forward while receiving enormous amounts of fire. The Afghanistan National Army (ANA) elements that were part of the patrol helped consolidate, assess, and obtain control of the situation while ODA 316 continued to receive heavy machine gun fire and Rocket Propelled Grenades (RPG) from numerous positions. Sergeant Siriwardene moved to a position to gain positive control of the ANA element and focused their fire on the enemy, without which, the element would not have been able to positively engage the enemy’s heavily fortified positions with pinpoint accuracy. The enemy forces would have taken advantage of the ANA element and would have destroyed their unit if Sergeant Siriwardene had not directed them in the right positions. ODA 316 continued to pursue the enemy during their retreat. The enemy forces had called ahead for reinforcements to set up what was to be the third ambush. Sergeant Siriwardene immediately recognized the third Anti Coalition Member (ACM) ambush and put his vehicle in position so his gunner could fire upon the well emplaced and trained enemy. Sergeant Siriwardene once again dismounted with another member of his vehicle to attempt to flank the ACM positions. Sergeant Siriwardene’s bravery allowed the ANA element to maneuver on the larger ACM element. This caused the enemy to maneuver to a location they thought would give them a tactical advantage which only led them to a point where the gun vehicles could eliminate them. The remaining ACM elements broke contact again, only to reform and gather more experienced and trained fighters further down the route. ODA 316 and the ANA intercepted ACM communications stating they would reorganize at a location that they had success with in the past. Sergeant Siriwardene demanded to continue on and finish the enemy. As ODA 316 and ANA entered Cakyan Ghar Valley, the ACM element opened fire on the lead element with extraordinary volumes of machine gun, RPG, and AK-47 fire. Sergeant Siriwardene immediately maneuvered his gun vehicle to a position to engage this highly trained, numerically superior, and well equipped ACM Force that the team had been dealing with and pursuing for the past thirty hours. Sergeant Siriwardene got out of his vehicle and engaged without care for his own life. His only concerns were for the care of his fellow team mates and eliminating some of the fire from the machine gun positions that had the ANA element pinned down. Sergeant Siriwardene continued engaging the enemy positions. The remaining ACM ambush opened up heavy fire on the element, causing Sergeant First Class Roundtree’s turret burst into flames. Sergeant Roundtree continued to engage the enemy without care for his own welfare or safety until Sergeant Siriwardene pulled him down from his gun position because of the intense fire that had raged around him. Once he pulled Sergeant Roundtree down to safety, Sergeant Siriwardene maneuvered back to the rear vehicle of the element that had a downed turret gunner. Upon arriving at the downed vehicle, Sergeant Siriwardene was essential to the movement of Staff Sergeant Falkel into the rear of the vehicle so the gun turret could be re-occupied. At that point, the vehicles could start to maneuver to reach adequate cover. Sergeant Siriwardene took it upon himself to stay behind, knowing the danger that he faced but only thinking of the ANA Soldiers that were trapped by the fierce fires. He maneuvered, ensuring that he gathered up all the ANA Soldiers that were scattered throughout the enemy kill zone. If not for the bravery of Sergeant Siriwardene, moving under enormous amounts of fire, ensuring no ANA were left behind, the ANA element would have sustained tremendous losses. The following morning the element began its final pursuit of the ACM Forces in the Marah Valley to link up with ground Quick Reaction Force (QRF) element. Shortly after the link up, contact began for the seventh time. This was the largest, most violent ACM Force of all that were faced in the prior 56 hours. Sergeant Siriwardene maneuvered his gun vehicle so the gunner could begin to lay down heavy volumes of fire on the ACM element. The ACM opened up on the lead element and the vehicle received extraordinary volumes of machine gun, RPG and AK-47 fire. Sergeant Siriwardene’s vehicle was struck numerous times and yet again he continued to fiercely lay down fire so the rest of his element could clear the choke point. The enemy was engaging with tremendous amounts of fire at the moment. His continuous engagement without concern for his own well being allowed his heavily suppressed elements to get to positions of better cover and his relentless punishment to the enemy while he was fully exposed later caused them to retreat. Sergeant Siriwardene willfully and voluntarily chose to serve in OEF supporting his fellow Soldiers, the legitimate Government of Afghanistan, and the United States of America in the Global War on Terrorism. His actions are in keeping with the finest traditions of military heroism and reflect distinct credit upon himself, Special Operations Task Force – 31, the Combined Joint Special Operations Task Force – Afghanistan, Special Operations Central Command, and the United States Army.