The President of the United States of America, authorized by Executive Order 11046, 24 August 1962, takes pleasure in presenting the Bronze Star Medal with Combat “V” to Specialist Nathan K. Watson, United States Army, for valorous and meritorious actions while engaged in direct combat operations in support of Operation ENDURING FREEDOM on 17 August 2009. Specialist Watson’s courage and selfless dedication in a combat zone, under the most extreme of circumstances, greatly contributed to the fight against the War on Terrorism. Specialist Watson’s actions reflect great credit upon himself, Task Force VOLUNTEER, Combined Joint Task Force-82 and the United States Central Command.
NARRATIVE TO ACCOMPANY AWARD:
Specialist Nathan K. Watson distinguished himself by extraordinary wartime service through Task Force 1-108th Cavalry, Operation ENDURING FREEDOM, on 17 August 2009. Specialist Watson was a .50 caliber machine gunner in a mounted combat patrol on 17 August 2009. While Specialist Watson and the Kapisa PMT-P were conducting a joint patrol with the Afghan National Police to escort valuable election materials to the Ta Grab District Center in Kapisa Province, Afghanistan, the convoy came under direct fire from insurgent forces near the village of Duran, a few kilometers north of FOB Kutschbach. The U.S. vehicles continued forward to engage insurgent forces firing on the convoy. Specialist Watson and other gunners in the convoy began to return fire, when in close proximity with the enemy and when they were able to positively identify targets. Specialist Watson began engaging the enemy with his .50 caliber M2 machine gun killing two insurgents. He then had the presence of mind to switch to his alternate weapon (M4/M203) when the machine gun began to feed ammunition incorrectly and corrective actions were not clearing the malfunction. He engaged and killed two more insurgents with his M4 before being shot in the left forearm. Specialist Watson indicated to his crew that he had been wounded but continued to return fire. He continued to return fire until ordered by the CLS (SGT Hancock, Gary) on his truck to come down from the turret after noticing that he was losing a significant amount of blood. Specialist Watson’s wound was treated by the CLS. Another soldier was to replace Specialist Watson on the crew served weapon to maintain the unit’s combat firepower and allow him to maintain pressure on his wound. He refused to sit in the back of the vehicle but instead switched with the driver who then took his place as the vehicle’s gunner. Specialist Watson then drove the vehicle another 2 – 3 kilometers to FOB Kutschbach before being treated by French medical personnel. The decision by Specialist Watson to drive his vehicle saved the convoy precious minutes needed to keep the convoy moving towards mission accomplishment. Specialist Watson’s personal courage and selfless service not only contributed directly to mission success but prevented insurgents from disrupting election operations allowing Afghans in Ta Gab District the ability to participate in the 2009 Presidential Election.