Hello, my name is Lori and I am a new moderator for this forum. I am married and have five children ages 4-14 that I homeschool. I am a cradle Catholic and a member of Saint William's Catholic Church in Greenville, Texas, which is the parish that Father Paul is pastor of.
+JMJT+
Lori
Lori(moderator)
Moderators: johnmc, Johnna, MarieT, Denise
And here is a bit about Lori's husband, Scott.
COALITION JOINT TASK FORCE PHOENIX
PUBLIC AFFAIRS OFFICE
KABUL, AFGHANISTAN
APO AE 09320
May 9, 2005
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Release #0505
U.S. Soldiers honored for saving life of Afghan soldier
Story by U.S. Army Capt. Mirtha Villarreal
KABUL MILITARY TRAINING CENTER, KABUL, Afghanistan – Two Soldiers from the 136th Regional Training Center at the Kabul Military Training Center were awarded the Army Commendation Medal with “V” device for valor during a ceremony here May 5.
Staff Sgts. Scott Erhman and David Dixon received the award for actions that saved the life of an Afghan National Army soldier who stepped on a landmine near KMTC, the schoolhouse for the ANA.
Much of training at KMTC is conducted on the surrounding ranges and minefields are a reminder that KMTC the area was once occupied by the Russians and later the Taliban.
Mined areas are marked and sentries are posted to ensure soldiers do not accidentally walk through the danger areas. On the day of the incident, the ANA soldier had walked towards the sentry through the marked path, but decided to take a short-cut on his return.
“I heard an explosion and looked toward the direction of the blast,” Ehrman said. “I saw a smoke cloud then an ANA soldier hobbling out, from there it was all automatic.”
Dixon immediately drove to the edge of the marked minefield area and called in the grid coordinates to range control and requested medical assistance. He then turned over the radio to Erhman who assumed tactical control and closed down surrounding ranges. He then directed the medical team to the designated area.
Meanwhile, Dixon realized that the wounded soldier would have to be extracted from the mined area. He, Erhman and the ANA cadre on the ground devised a rescue plan.
A flatbed truck was used to drive into the mined area. Two ANA soldiers then pulled the wounded soldier into the truck and drove back on the exact path they took in. Once the soldier was rescued, Dixon supervised the rendering of first aid.
Even though the ANA soldier lost his foot, it was deemed that the quick actions of Dixon and Ehrman spared the soldier’s life.
“You don’t think about what can happen to you. You do what you can for the wounded soldier,” Dixon said.
Erhman’s and Dixon’s courageous efforts are an example of what our citizen-Soldiers can do when called upon. Both Soldiers met while serving in the Marine Corps in 1991 and had left the military to pursue a civilian life.
When the twin towers of the World Trade Center were hit on September 11, 2001, Erhman called up his old friend and talked him into rejoining the Armed Forces. Dixon is from Dallas and Erhman is from Farmersville, Texas, and both decided to join the Texas National Guard.
Afghanistan is the second deployment for both since they decided to re-enlist into the military.
When asked if they regretted the decision to rejoin, they both smiled and stated “We will stay in as long as they will have us”.
COALITION JOINT TASK FORCE PHOENIX
PUBLIC AFFAIRS OFFICE
KABUL, AFGHANISTAN
APO AE 09320
May 9, 2005
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Release #0505
U.S. Soldiers honored for saving life of Afghan soldier
Story by U.S. Army Capt. Mirtha Villarreal
KABUL MILITARY TRAINING CENTER, KABUL, Afghanistan – Two Soldiers from the 136th Regional Training Center at the Kabul Military Training Center were awarded the Army Commendation Medal with “V” device for valor during a ceremony here May 5.
Staff Sgts. Scott Erhman and David Dixon received the award for actions that saved the life of an Afghan National Army soldier who stepped on a landmine near KMTC, the schoolhouse for the ANA.
Much of training at KMTC is conducted on the surrounding ranges and minefields are a reminder that KMTC the area was once occupied by the Russians and later the Taliban.
Mined areas are marked and sentries are posted to ensure soldiers do not accidentally walk through the danger areas. On the day of the incident, the ANA soldier had walked towards the sentry through the marked path, but decided to take a short-cut on his return.
“I heard an explosion and looked toward the direction of the blast,” Ehrman said. “I saw a smoke cloud then an ANA soldier hobbling out, from there it was all automatic.”
Dixon immediately drove to the edge of the marked minefield area and called in the grid coordinates to range control and requested medical assistance. He then turned over the radio to Erhman who assumed tactical control and closed down surrounding ranges. He then directed the medical team to the designated area.
Meanwhile, Dixon realized that the wounded soldier would have to be extracted from the mined area. He, Erhman and the ANA cadre on the ground devised a rescue plan.
A flatbed truck was used to drive into the mined area. Two ANA soldiers then pulled the wounded soldier into the truck and drove back on the exact path they took in. Once the soldier was rescued, Dixon supervised the rendering of first aid.
Even though the ANA soldier lost his foot, it was deemed that the quick actions of Dixon and Ehrman spared the soldier’s life.
“You don’t think about what can happen to you. You do what you can for the wounded soldier,” Dixon said.
Erhman’s and Dixon’s courageous efforts are an example of what our citizen-Soldiers can do when called upon. Both Soldiers met while serving in the Marine Corps in 1991 and had left the military to pursue a civilian life.
When the twin towers of the World Trade Center were hit on September 11, 2001, Erhman called up his old friend and talked him into rejoining the Armed Forces. Dixon is from Dallas and Erhman is from Farmersville, Texas, and both decided to join the Texas National Guard.
Afghanistan is the second deployment for both since they decided to re-enlist into the military.
When asked if they regretted the decision to rejoin, they both smiled and stated “We will stay in as long as they will have us”.
new member sayig hello
Greetings; My name is Chuck C. and I am looking forward to this forum. I hope your endeavors are successful. Glad to be on board. Peace to all. Chuck C.
