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 Staff Sergeant Lincoln V. Dockery, United States Army, for exceptional gallantry and bravery in combat on 16 November 2007, while under heavy and intense enemy fire as an Engineer assigned to Headquarters and Headquarters Company, 2d Battalion (Airborne), 503d Parachute Infantry Regiment, 173d Airborne Brigade Combat Team. Staff Sergeant Dockery’s audacious uphill assault into an improved enemy position twenty-five meters away was pivotal in the successful counter-attack that enabled the Route Clearance Patrol to rout the enemy ambush. Staff Sergeant Dockery’s selfless actions to save fellow Paratroopers and defeat the enemy with disregard for his own safety were decisive in his platoon’s victory. His leadership reflects great credit upon himself, Task Force ROCK, Task Force BAYONET, Combined Joint Task Force-82 Afghanistan, the United States Central Command and the United States Army.
NARRATIVE TO ACCOMPANY AWARD:
On 16 November 2007, the Task Force Rock Route Clearance Platoon was tasked with clearing the Korengal Road from the village of Kandegal to the village of Omar. Having credible human and signal intelligence that an IED had been emplaced on that road, the Route Clearance Platoon departed Camp Wright, Asadabad, at approximately 0615 local time towards Kandegal. The RCP was traveling South on the Korengal Road approximately 300 meters past Omar village when the lead vehicle in the convoy was hit by a command wire improvised explosive device that had been buried in the ground. Staff Sergeant Dockery was dismounted behind the lead vehicle when the IED detonated. Heavy and accurate small arms fire, machine gun fire and rocket propelled grenades immediately followed the IED blast. Knocked to the ground and initially disoriented, Staff Sergeant Dockery quickly realized that the convoy was in the middle of a near ambush. Disregarding his own shrapnel injury from the blast, Staff Sergeant Dockery ran to the Husky under intense enemy fire to ensure that the operator, Private First Class Magana, was alive and uninjured. He then identified the IED trigger man and a three-man enemy fire team that had been engaging the front of the convoy. He immediately returned fire and directed those around him to do the same. With disregard for his own safety and still under effective enemy fire, Staff Sergeant Dockery and Specialist Taylor demonstrated remarkable discipline as they began to bound into the enemy ambush, towards the enemy fighting positions. Using individual movement techniques, Staff Sergeant Dockery led Specialist Taylor up the rugged terrain, gaining more than twenty meters of elevation while moving forward only twenty meters, and closed the distance between himself and the enemy, eventually getting to within twenty-five meters. Scrambling over bare rock under enemy fire, Staff Sergeant Dockery and Specialist Taylor assumed a covered position a the base of the rock face concealing the enemy fighters above. Using his M-14 rifle, M9 pistol and even hand grenades, Staff Sergeant Dockery gained suppression on the enemy position that had been saturating the ambush’s kill zone with fire and RPG explosions. Realizing that he and Specialist Taylor were near “black” on ammunition, Staff Sergeant Dockery called for friendly .50 caliber machinegun fire to be placed on the building that was now housing the enemy fighters. Using smoke, he was able to mark his position, covering his movement as well as identifying himself to the Platoon Leader and mounted gunners. Because of Staff Sergeant Dockery’s initial reaction, the enemy ambush line was sufficiently disrupted to allow First Lieutenant Cromie to maneuver to Staff Sergeant Dockery’s newly marked position. After receiving an ammunition resupply from First Lieutenant Cromie, and under cover provided by First Lieutenant Cromie’s employment of hand grenades against the enemy position, Staff Sergeant Dockery led Specialist Taylor as they again scrambled over the rocky terrain to climb to the enemy fighting positions and close the final 25 meters between the enemy and Staff Sergeant Dockery’s position. As Staff Sergeant Dockery and Specialist Taylor gained a foothold in the building that had previously housed the enemy fighting position, the enemy retreated from his fighting positions back up the side of the valley. With the near ambush positions seized, First Lieutenant Cromie was able to bring a larger element forward into the foothold where Staff Sergeant Dockery and his fellow Soldiers found the command wire, battery pack, and trigger device that had been used to detonate the initial IED. Staff Sergeant Dockery’s audacious assault uphill into established enemy fighting positions was decisive to his platoons successful defeat of an enemy ambush and his tenacity in seeking to close with and destroy enemy fighters proved to be the pivotal event as the platoon transitioned from reacting to the ambush to bringing the full combined-arms power of Task Rock to bear on the fleeing enemy in a successful counter-attack that saw mortars, artillery, ISR, and fixed-wing-delivered CAS employed to devastating effect on the enemy without causing collateral damage. Staff Sergeant Lincoln Dockery’s uncommon gallantry and decisive actions under fire, despite being injured from the contact, reflect great credit upon himself, Task Force ROCK, Task Force BAYONET, Combined Joint Task Force-101, and the United States Army.