Matthew Chaney graduated from the U.S. Military Academy at West Point, Class of 2001.
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Matthew Chaney graduated from the U.S. Military Academy at West Point, Class of 2001.
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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 Captain (Special Forces) Matthew Aaron Chaney, United States Army, for conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity in action against the enemy on 10 September 2007, while serving as the Detachment Commander, Special Forces Operational Detachment Alpha 083 (ODA-083), 10th Special Forces Group (Airborne), at Samarra, Iraq, in support of Operation IRAQI FREEDOM. Captain Chaney’s heroic actions during combat operations resulted in his Detachment decisively defeating a prepared and determined enemy. Captain Chaney’s bravery in the face of the enemy, skill at arms, and aggressive assault of prepared enemy defenses saved lives and enabled the Detachment Alpha to defeat a prepared and determined enemy. Captain Chaney’s valorous performance is in keeping with the finest traditions of the military service and reflects great credit upon himself, the Special Operations Command Central, and the United States Army.
NARRATIVE TO ACCOMPANY AWARD:
Captain Matthew A. Chaney, United States Army, heroically distinguished himself by exceptionally valorous conduct in the face of the enemy of the United States as the Detachment Commander for Operational Detachment Alpha 083, Samarra, Iraq, in support of Operation IRAQI FREEDOM on 10 September 2007. Captain Chaney, the overall Ground Force Commander during Operation CHROMIUM targeting a high-value Islamic State of Iraq (ISI) cell leader in the vicinity of Samarra, in Iraq, acted with the utmost bravery and valor to eliminate a heavily armed and entrenched terrorist strong hold by ensuring that the momentum of the assault was maintained throughout the combined operation with the Iraqi National Police. Upon helicopter infiltration on an unplanned, alternate landing zone, Captain Chaney was faced with an immediately dangerous situation as the entire objective was obscured by brown-out conditions due to the rotor wash of the platform. He immediately led a combined Iraqi and ODA assault element to clear the first two structures on the objective before the enemy could reposition itself to engage his men and partnered Iraqi National Police force. As he maneuvered to the second structure, his element came under immediate direct machine gun fire. He quickly assessed the situation and reconsolidated the assault force under cover to regain the momentum and violence of action required to unhinge the now entrenched enemy position. He directed his element to initiate a breach with fragmentary grenades into a building occupied by nine armed terrorists. Instinctively reacting to the detonation with an overwhelming assault on the target building, Captain Chaney was instantly shot from the side but continued to direct the assault into the building ensuring that it was cleared of enemy personnel. Substantially outmanned, the assault element under the command of Captain Chaney killed a total of nine defending enemy inside the targeted building. As he was directing this effort, an enemy grenade exploded in close proximity to Captain Chaney propelling him outside the structure where he quickly recovered and engaged and killed another enemy firing directly at him from an open door. Once the immediate threat was eliminated, Captain Chaney, now more seriously wounded and disoriented from the blast of the grenade, realized that two other ODA members were also seriously wounded and required immediate medical evacuation. He immediately called for the ODA medic to move to the position of the assault force and begin treating the casualties while simultaneously coordinating for the infiltration aircraft, loitering off of the objective, to return to the target area and evacuate his wounded men. Although wounded, Captain Chaney relentlessly continued to control actions on the objective ensuring that all structures were cleared of enemy personnel. His actions under fire were directly responsible for the killing of eleven enemy personnel, including a high-value foreign fighter that coalition forces had been chasing for over a year. His valorous leadership and successful elimination of these terrorists had a significant impact on Al Qaeda operations in the Samarra area and contributed immeasurably to the security of Salah ad-Din Province in Iraq. His actions are in keeping with the finest traditions of military heroism and reflect distinct credit upon himself, the Special Operations Command Central, and the United States Army.