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 Chief Warrant Officer Three (CWO-3) James B. Herring, United States Army, for gallantry and intrepidity in action against enemy forces while serving as the Detachment Commander for Operational Detachment Alpha 2084 (ODA-2084), Special Operations Task Force-North, during combat operations in support of Operation IRAQI FREEDOM, on 23 December 2006, near Baqubah, Iraq. Chief Warrant Officer Three Herring’s heroism and bravery under intense enemy fire was responsible for the safety and well-being of a combined United States-Iraqi force. Chief Warrant Officer Three Herring’s gallant action and total disregard for his personal well-being saved four men in his vehicle from serious injury or death. Chief Warrant Officer Three Herrings actions are in keeping with the finest traditions of military service and reflect great credit upon himself, Special Operations Task Force-North, The Special Operations Command Central, and the United States Army.
NARRATIVE TO ACCOMPANY AWARD:
Chief Warrant Officer James B. Herring distinguished himself through conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity in action against enemy forces near Baqubah, Iraq on 23 December 2006, while serving as the Detachment Commander for Operational Detachment Alpha 2084 (ODA-2084), Special Operations Task Force-North, in support of Operation IRAQI FREEDOM. Chief Warrant Officer Three Herring’s heroism and bravery under intense enemy fire was directly responsible for the safety and well being of a combined twenty-three man US-Iraqi force. While searching the village of Tahrir for a Sunni-Arab insurgent cell responsible for multiple complex attacks against Coalition Forces operating in the area, the combined force was caught in a complex ambush by approximately twenty insurgents firing machine guns, rifles, and rocket propelled grenades. Chief Warrant Officer Three Herring was the Ground Force Commander and riding in the lead vehicle of the five vehicle patrol. As the convoy moved along a narrow road between two-story buildings, three insurgents opened fire with machine guns on his vehicle. He directed the driver to continue to move forward as the turret gunner engaged and killed the insurgents. As the vehicle moved it was engaged by more than twenty insurgents from a nearby concrete wall from a distance of less than thirty feet. The turret gunner engaged the insurgents with machine gun fire. During this exchange, enemy rounds penetrated the vehicle, critically wounding the driver. As the vehicle came to a stop, Chief Warrant Officer Three Herring observed several insurgents armed with machine guns, firing on his vehicle from a distance of less than fifty meters. Realizing that the turret gunner was facing the opposite direction, Chief Warrant Officer Three Herring dismounted the vehicle and engaged the enemy forces with rifle fire, killing two enemy machine gunners. The ferocity of his action forced the other insurgents to abandon their positions and flee to nearby buildings. An immobilized Iraqi vehicle blocked the remaining convoy vehicles from advancing to support, and Chief Warrant Officer Three Herring’s vehicle was alone against the larger enemy force. Chief Warrant Officer Three Herring then realized that the driver was critically wounded, immobile, and in need of immediate medical care. With complete disregard for his personal safety and under constant well-aimed small arms and machine gun fire, and a volley of rocket propelled grenades, Chief Warrant Officer Three Herring exited the relative safety of the vehicle for a second time. He was knocked to the ground by the concussion of an impacting rocket propelled grenade, but got up and continued to fire and maneuver, alone, with only his vehicle gunner to provide suppressive fire to get to the driver’s side. There he removed the wounded driver from the vehicle, and after placing him in the rear seat so that the medic could continue treatment, he climbed into the driver’s seat, advised his higher headquarters of the situation, called for medical evacuation, and began to maneuver the vehicle out of the kill zone. Though the heavily damaged ballistic windshield obscured his view, Chief Warrant Officer Three Herring led the combined ground assault force through the narrow side streets of Tahrir and back to Forward Operating Base Gabe. As a result of his decisive and heroic actions, Chief Warrant Officer Three Herring swung the tide of the engagement against a prepared enemy, killing many, and preventing other members of the combined force from being killed or wounded. His gallant action and total disregard for his personal well being directly saved the other four men in his vehicle from certain serious injury or death. Chief Warrant Officer Three Herring’s actions are in keeping with the finest traditions of heroic military service and reflect great credit upon himself, the Special Operations Task Force-North, Special Operations Command Central, and the United States Army.