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 Sergeant First Class Jeffrey S. Boan, United States Army, for gallantry in action from 31 October 2006 to 11 November 2006 against an armed enemy of the United States as the Senior Medical Sergeant, Operational Detachment Alpha 376 (ODA-376), Company A, 3d Battalion, 3d Special Forces Group (Airborne), Combined Joint Special Operations Task Force-Afghanistan, Tagab Village, Kapisa, Afghanistan, in support of Operation ENDURING FREEDOM. Sergeant First Class Boan displayed unparalleled heroism without regard for his own safety in combat during multiple engagements with the enemy. Sergeant First Class Boan’s actions are in keeping with the finest traditions of military service and reflect great credit upon himself, the Combined Joint Special Operations Task Force-Afghanistan, Special Operations Command Central and the United States Army.
NARRATIVE TO ACCOMPANY AWARD:
Sergeant First Class Jeffrey S. Boan, United States Army, heroically distinguished himself by exceptionally valorous conduct in the face of an enemy of the United States as the Senior Medical Sergeant on Special Forces Operational Detachment Alpha 376 (ODA-376), Combined Joint Special Operations Task Force-Afghanistan, in support of Operation ENDURING FREEDOM IX. During a Combined/Joint combat patrol near Tagab Village, Kapisa Province, Afghanistan, Operation AL HASN, Coalition forces conducted a raid on a compound of a known Mid-Value Tart (MVT). The ODA conducted clearing operations in compounds in the Tagab Valley believed to be harboring three High-Value Targets (HVT) and a high number of enemy fighters and insurgents. The patrol sustained multiple ambushes and indecisive contacts with the enemy over a period of six days during which Sergeant Boan repeatedly exposed himself to enemy fire. On the fourth day of operations, the patrol moved through a canalized route in the village of Tagab. Suddenly, the lead element of the Afghanistan National Army (ANA) came under intense fire from an ambush in an orchard located across a riverbed. Sergeant Boat dismounted the lead vehicle exposing himself to intense enemy small arms and machinegun fire and armed only with his M4 Carbine, to lay suppressive fire so the element could move forward across the river into the Orchard. He ran 30 meters across an open construction yard to a small shack where he single-handedly fixed the enemy and held the position until both of the ODA’s Ground Mobility Vehicles (GMV) were able to move out of the canalization, maneuver into position and begin suppressing fires on the enemy positions. Sergeant Boan’s fire support enabled other United States Special Forces (USSF) to continue the forward momentum into the ambush by exploiting his aggressive action. The ODA continued firing, dismounted their vehicles and employed mortar systems which broke the enemy’s heavy volume of fire. Sergeant Boan’s unguarded forward movement across an open area to engage the enemy from a key tactical position was the pivotal action that provided critical covering fires for mortar emplacement. Without Sergeant Boan’s gallant action, the entire element would not have been able to engage the enemy with the same decisive lethality. Following the disruption of the ambush, coalition forces moved across the riverbed, defeated the ambush, and began pursuit of enemy elements fleeing the ambush site. Sergeant Boan again moved from the protection of his vehicle, exposing himself to enemy small arms fire, machine gun fire, and rocket propelled grenades (RPG), to gain a position to better engage the enemy and return fire. While firing on the enemy who were retreating in front of him, he saw hostile movement to the North and directed ANA elements to secure walls and high ground that exposed all the friendly forces remaining in the river bed. This ANA element under the command of Sergeant Boan pushed forward and ultimately drove the enemy’s counter attacking element out into the riverbed where it was later engaged by air dropped munitions as they retreated North. The enemy continued to retreat from their positions, forcing the ODA to conduct three or four bounds until the detachment was able to fix the enemy fighters with overwhelming fire. During these bounds Sergeant Boan left the protection of his vehicle exposing himself to incoming enemy fire on at least four occasions in order to provide fire direction and assist the placement of ANA elements to better engage enemy forces. In an attempt to flank and destroy the remaining fleeing enemy, the patrol broke into two separate elements; a ZULU element led by the Team Sergeant and an ALPHA element led by the ODA Commander. The ZULU element, which included Sergeant Boan, moved alongside a compound to provide covering and suppressive fires for the ALPHA element. At the same time, the ZULU element attempted a link-up with three other ODAs sweeping up a river bed approximately one kilometer to the South with elements of ANA. The other ODAs were emplaced by the ZULU element in order to begin pushing the enemy forces up the valley by creating a linear forward push that spanned across the valley floor. Establishing the connection between all the moving elements was critical to ensure that the enemy could not slip through or flank the friendly elements with an attack from the rear. It was difficult to establish contact between the ZULU element and the other ODAs due to the rough terrain, multiple walls and irrigation ditches that lay between them. Sergeant Boan volunteered to move 600 meters on foot with two ANA soldiers to establish visual contact with the other ODAs. Moving through sporadic enemy gunfire, Sergeant Boan successfully pinpointed the near side of the lead ODA’s ANA element, effected linkup, reported the forward trace of friendly elements, and then returned to the ZULU element. Sergeant Boan had executed the critical coordination that allowed three ODAs to conduct a sweeping action to clear the valley of Taliban forces. Following the link-up, the ZULU element was able to disengage contact with the enemy and begin movement into a position where they could better support the ALPHA element, which was again under enemy small arms fire. The ZULU element mistakenly maneuvered into a small village as it was attempting to gain a support position to assist the ALPHA element. The village terrain was a maze of tight, narrow roads with four to six foot high walls on both sides, which led deeper into the village of two and three story houses. In the village, the patrol was engaged by an ambush from the South. The ANA immediately dismounted their GMVs and attempted to return fire while moving to covered positions in nearby alleyways. As they moved towards the enemy, the ANA lost control of their element and could no longer provide effective covering fires. During the ambush, Sergeant Boan dismounted the rear of his vehicle and moved through enemy small arms, machinegun, and RPG fires to the ANA position. Sergeant Boan maintained his presence of mind under the intense enemy fire and accounted for all of the ANA while directing them back to the vehicles in order to continue the forward push out of the ambush. When some of the ANA had mounted, the convoy began moving forward but stopped after only ten meters to allow more ANA back on the vehicles. The convoy was attempting to continue movement in order to push through the ambush but had to wait for the ANA to remount their vehicles, rejoining the convoy. As the last ANA were mounting the GMVs, the patrol came under enemy fire from the North. Sergeant Boan moved forward to the lead vehicle to update the situation in the rear when enemy gunfire erupted from a third position that was behind a wall adjacent to the vehicles. Three to four enemy personnel had engaged the middle and rear of the ZULU element utilizing machine gun and small arms fire. Sergeant Boan immediately moved to the wall protecting the enemy from the lead vehicles, returned fire and dropped two fragmentation grenades over the wall, silencing the enemy fire so the ANA could finish mounting the trucks, allowing the entire column to move out of the on-going ambush. His quick thinking, decisive action, and flawless tactics saved over 30 coalition soldiers lives during a near ambush. The ZULU element continued to receive sporadic enemy small arms fire as they attempted to maneuver out of the village. Sergeant Boan rode exposed and unprotected in the rear of the GMV calling out the distance and direction of enemy personnel while returning fire up the narrow streets and alleyways. After 1,100 meters, the patrol came to a dead end. As the element reconsolidated and repositioned its personnel and vehicles to fight their way back through the kill zone, communications were reestablished with the Forward Operating Base (FOB) and close air support was requested but was not currently available. From their rear, the patrol received small arms fire from three to four enemy personnel and other enemy movement was observed attempting to flank and surround the now stationary element. The Team Sergeant made the decision to deliberately clear the route with ANA and US dismounts leading the way to ensure a higher degree of security for the vehicles through the tight village streets and alleys. The vehicles were unable to maneuver around each other so they exited the dead end in reverse order. When the movement back through the village began, Sergeant Boan moved on foot to the front of the convoy. In the confusion of turning the vehicles around, the ANA had mounted the vehicles and Sergeant Boan alone led the convoy for several hundred meters without cover until the ANA could be organized to clear the way. The greatest concern was the risk to coalition vehicles which were vulnerable to RPG fire from numerous blind alleys along the route. Dismounted personnel could more effectively clear the intricate roadways through the village. The ZULU element navigated the remaining 800 meters back out of the village and conducted a link up with the other ODA. On 4 November 2006, Sergeant Boan repeatedly demonstrated his exemplary courage by exposing himself to intense enemy fire for over ten hours, ignoring his own personal safety in favor of protecting other coalition lives and aggressively accomplishing the mission. Sergeant Boan’s courage in the face of danger throughout the day saved over 140 coalition lives and took actions that led to approximately 100 enemy casualties in the defense of both Coalition Forces and the Government of Afghanistan. His actions are in keeping with the finest traditions of military heroism and reflect distinct credit upon himself, Task Force 33, the Combined Joint Special Operations Task Force-Afghanistan, Special Operations Command Central, and the United States Army.