OT: Female Soldier Earns Silver Star In Afghan War

[Guest guest]

Woman Earns Silver Star In Afghan War

 

By FISNIK ABRASHI, Associated Press Writer*Sun Mar 9, 1:11 PM ET

*

 

*http://news./s/ap/20080309/ap_on_re_as/afghan_silver_star

*

 

A 19-year-old medic from Texas will become the first woman in Afghanistan

and only the second female soldier since World War II to receive the Silver

Star, the nation's third-highest medal for valor.

 

Army Spc. Monica Lin Brown saved the lives of fellow soldiers after a

roadside bomb tore through a convoy of Humvees in the eastern Paktia

province in April 2007, the military said.

 

After the explosion, which wounded five soldiers in her unit, Brown ran

through insurgent gunfire and used her body to shield wounded comrades as

mortars fell less than 100 yards away, the military said.

 

" I did not really think about anything except for getting the guys to a

safer location and getting them taken care of and getting them out of

there, " Brown told The Associated Press on Saturday at a U.S. base in the

eastern province of Khost.

 

Brown, of Lake Jackson, Texas, is scheduled to receive the Silver Star later

this month. She was part of a four-vehicle convoy patrolling near Jani Kheil

in the eastern province of Paktia on April 25, 2007, when a bomb struck one

of the Humvees.

 

" We stopped the convoy. I opened up my door and grabbed my aid bag, " Brown

said.

 

She started running toward the burning vehicle as insurgents opened fire.

All five wounded soldiers had scrambled out.

 

" I assessed the patients to see how bad they were. We tried to move them to

a safer location because we were still receiving incoming fire, " Brown said.

 

Pentagon policy prohibits women from serving in front-line combat roles — in

the infantry, armor or artillery, for example. But the nature of the wars in

Afghanistan and Iraq, with no real front lines, has seen women soldiers take

part in close-quarters combat more than previous conflicts.

 

Four Army nurses in World War II were the first women to receive the Silver

Star, though three nurses serving in World War I were awarded the medal

posthumously last year, according to the Army's Web site.

 

Brown, of the 4th Squadron, 73rd Cavalry Regiment, 4th Brigade Combat Team,

said ammunition going off inside the burning Humvee was sending shrapnel in

all directions. She said they were sitting in a dangerous spot.

 

" So we dragged them for 100 or 200 meters, got them away from the Humvee a

little bit, " she said. " I was in a kind of a robot-mode, did not think about

much but getting the guys taken care of. "

 

For Brown, who knew all five wounded soldiers, it became a race to get them

all to a safer location. Eventually, they moved the wounded some 500 yards

away and treated them on site before putting them on a helicopter for

evacuation.

 

" I did not really have time to be scared, " Brown said. " Running back to the

vehicle, I was nervous (since) I did not know how badly the guys were

injured. That was scary. "

 

The military said Brown's " bravery, unselfish actions and medical aid

rendered under fire saved the lives of her comrades and represents the

finest traditions of heroism in combat. "

 

Sgt. Leigh Ann Hester, of Nashville, Tenn., received the Silver Star in 2005

for gallantry during an insurgent ambush on a convoy in Iraq. Two men from

her unit, the 617th Military Police Company of Richmond, Ky., also received

the Silver Star for their roles in the same action.

Copyright © 2008 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.