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 Robert Ray McBride, United States Army, for conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity in connection with military operations against an armed hostile force while serving in support of Operation IRAQI FREEDOM while serving with the 2d Armored Cavalry Regiment, 1st Armored Division, on 3 June 2004, at Al Kufa, Iraq.
NARRATIVE TO ACCOMPANY AWARD:
On 3 Jun 2004, Iron Troop, 3d Squadron, 2d ACR received the mission to capture or destroy an enemy 120-mm. mortar position located in an Iraqi school approximately 300 meters north west of the Al Kuffa Mosque in Al Kuffa, Iraq. These mortar systems had been plaguing FOBs Baker and Golf for weeks as well as having significant effect on patrols outside of the FOBs. Because of the mortar being positioned within 300 meters of the Kufa Mosque the mortar position could not be reduced with indirect fires. The school compound consisted of three large buildings the largest and central of the three being a three story The President of the United States of America, authorized by Act of Congress, 20 July 1942, takes pleasure in presenting a Bronze Oak Leaf Cluster in lieu of a Second Award of the Legion of Merit to Lieutenant Colonel (Infantry) Harold Hays, United States Army, for “I” shaped building. I had 12 HMMWVs scout trucks, a truck mounted mortar section consisting of three HMMWVs and nine mortar men, and a tank platoon at my disposal to execute the mission. The plan called for the scouts establish the outer cordon by occupying blocking positions around the school along avenues of approach from the Al Kuffa Mosque. A section from the tank platoon would establish the inner cordon by occupying an attack by fire position east of the objective while the remaining two tanks acted as my reserve. Staff Sergeant McBride’s mortar section would conduct a mounted attack to seize the enemy mortar system once the inner and outer cordons had been set. Iron Troop crossed the line of departure at 0530 on the morning of 3 Jun 2004. Shortly after LD, insurgents attacked Iron Troop with a series of command-detonated mines that had been buried in the road leading up to the objective. Staff Sergeant McBride maneuvered his section through the mines and established his attack position on the far side of the minefield in conjunction with the troop command post. Immediately after establishing his attack position and while the outer cordon was being established, Staff Sergeant McBride’s section, the troop command post, and the lead scouts made contact with a platoon size element of insurgents. An enemy RPG wounded three scouts in the outer cordon. The troop command post came under heavy mortar and small arms fire while the First Sergeant received the three wounded scouts and prepared them for evacuation from the troop command post. Acting on his own, Staff Sergeant McBride positioned himself and his vehicle between the casualties and the enemy small arms fire coming from the objective to protect the casualty evacuation operations. He immediately began directing the counter attack efforts against insurgents who had attacked the troop command post. His efforts and leadership under fire broke up the enemy attack, facilitated the evacuation of the wounded scouts, and allowed the troop commander to manage the fight to establish the outer cordon and inner cordon. After committing the reserve to reestablish the outer cordon, the troop commander ordered Staff Sergeant McBride to execute his mission to destroy or capture the mortar system on the now isolated objective. While under constant mortar and small arms fire, he moved his mounted section from the attack position to the objective where he quickly organized his team into a support by fire element and an assault element. A six-foot rock wall surrounded the schoolyard and blocked Staff Sergeant McBride’s entrance onto the objective. Staff Sergeant McBride quickly breached the wall by having one of the M1 Abrams in the inner cordon knock a section of the wall down. Upon entering the yard, enemy insurgents engaged Staff Sergeant McBride and his team from inside the school as he attempted to secure the now unmanned enemy mortar systems that were on the objective. Realizing the danger of his exposed position, Staff Sergeant McBride again organized his now eight-man squad into a support by fire element and an assault element to begin clearing the school. While organizing his men to clear the school, a HMMWV gunner in an adjacent platoon who could see over the wall surrounding the school alerted Staff Sergeant McBride to six insurgents maneuvering around the school building to attack Staff Sergeant McBride and his men. Staff Sergeant McBride immediately executed a lone attack into the entrance of the school that had yet to be cleared. Upon entering the first classroom alone, he made visual contact through a window with the insurgents moving outside the classroom and around the building to flank his men. Staff Sergeant McBride prepared a fragmentation grenade, moved to the window through which he could see the insurgents, and attacked with his grenade resulting in six enemy killed in action. His swift action broke the enemy counterattack and saved his men’s lives as none of the gun trucks or the tanks could place machine gun fires into the schoolyard. Staff Sergeant McBride’s actions decimated the enemy force inside the objective and set the conditions to continue the troop’s attack to secure the enemy mortar systems we had set out to destroy or capture. After single-handedly destroying the local counterattack, Staff Sergeant McBride continued to clear the school building with the rest of his men. Simultaneously, the outer cordon came under attack from two separate platoon size elements. The inner cordon just outside the walls of the school reported they were receiving small arms fire from the roof of the school building as well. Without orders, Staff Sergeant McBride began clearing the upper floors of the school where he was met with heavy small arms fire as he attempted to gain access to the roof. Again Staff Sergeant McBride along with one other soldier prepared fragmentation grenades and threw them onto the roof of the school building. The insurgents leapt from the roof of the school to avoid Staff Sergeant McBride’s grenades but died as a result of their fall. After destroying the remaining enemy on the objective, Staff Sergeant McBride continued to collect the enemy equipment and mortar systems. While gathering up the mortar systems, the enemy continued to place accurate mortar fires onto the objective and the troop command post. The enemy also continued to counter attack the outer cordon with dismounted elements in an attempt to retake their recently captured mortars. Throughout the enemy counter attack, Staff Sergeant McBride fearlessly led his men in collecting the enemy equipment that had to be moved from inside the schoolyard to his trucks outside the rock wall surrounding the school. Every time Staff Sergeant McBride and his men moved outside the schoolyard, they were met with small arms fire, yet he continued to gather and secure the enemy equipment. Staff Sergeant McBride withdrew his men only after ordered by the troop commander to break contact with the enemy. Ten enemy insurgents lay dead on the objective after Staff Sergeant McBride and his men broke off their attack and withdrew from the objective. Over 40 insurgents lay dead outside the walls of the school and in the alleyways around the school. Staff Sergeant McBride and his men captured one 120-mm. mortar system and two 82mm mortar systems along with a large cache of ammunition for all three mortars. They also captured numerous AK 47s and RPGs from the dead inside the schoolyard. The success of the raid rests squarely on the shoulders of Staff Sergeant Robert McBride and his valorous actions on 3 June 2004.