By Michelle Tan - Staff writer
Posted : Monday Mar 19, 2012 7:48:29 EDT
For three days, the enemy relentlessly attacked Observation Post Shal in Afghanistan’s
Kunar province.
And
for three days, Cpl. Michael A. Moynihan led his fellow soldiers in a
fierce defense of their OP, directing attacks and providing covering
fire even though it exposed him to the intense enemy barrage. A mortar
hit his position and knocked him unconscious; after he came to, Moynihan
continued to lead the fight.
For his actions Oct. 11-13, Moynihan was awarded the Silver Star, the third-highest award for valor.
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| Sgt. Michael Moynihan is presented the Silver Star Award by Maj. Gen. Daniel Allyn on March 5. - photo by Staff Sgt. Luke Graziani |
Moynihan,
a team leader assigned to B Company, 2nd Battalion,
27th Infantry
Regiment, 3rd Brigade Combat Team,
25th Infantry Division, received the
award March 5 from Maj. Gen. Daniel Allyn, commanding general of
Combined Joint Task Force-1 and the
1st Cavalry Division.
Moynihan, who is still deployed to Afghanistan, could not be reached by press time.
On
Oct. 11, as part of Operation Rugged Sarak in eastern Afghanistan,
Moynihan’s team was charged with guarding the northern flank of OP Shal,
according to the narrative accompanying his award.
When the team
came under fire, Moynihan led his soldiers to identify 12 enemy
positions in the mountainous terrain across the valley and deliver two
tube-launched, optically tracked, wire-guided missile strikes.
Afterward,
Moynihan took control of an abandoned and exposed machine-gun position
so he could suppress the enemy fire. As the enemy tried to zero in on
his position, Moynihan continued to fire, performing barrel changes,
linking ammunition and sustaining a “deadly accurate” rate of fire on
the enemy target, according to the narrative.
The next day,
Moynihan identified an armed enemy fighter moving into a fortified
position across the valley. He immediately took control of an M249 squad
automatic weapon and killed the enemy fighter, according to the
narrative.
As the enemy lobbed mortars at the OP, Moynihan stood
his ground and marked enemy positions for his soldiers to fire two more
TOW missile strikes, killing seven enemy fighters.
He then slowed
the progress of the enemy to support his platoon mates by using
suppressive fire, fragmentary grenades and
Claymore mines.
The
same evening, the enemy launched another attack, this time using
rocket-propelled grenades and AK47 rifles at close range to try to
overrun the northern flank of the OP, according to the narrative.
Moynihan
again exposed himself to enemy fire, moving through the danger zone and
rallying his men to run a counterattack on the enemy. Moynihan fired
his M4 carbine, threw grenades and detonated Claymore mines before
taking control of an abandoned SAW position.
However, the “heaviest and most coordinated attack” was yet to come, according to the narrative.
On
Oct. 13, as the enemy once again attacked the OP, Moynihan exposed
himself to danger again to acquire and pass grid coordinates to the
platoon forward observer. A mortar slammed into the ground 10 meters
from his fighting position before a second mortar found its mark,
severely wounding three Afghan and five American soldiers and knocking
Moynihan unconscious.
When he came to, Moynihan ordered a fellow
soldier to lay down suppressive fire while he manned an Afghan army SAW,
leading the defense of the OP’s northern flank until reinforcements
arrived.
Moynihan was “instrumental in helping to destroy a
determined enemy force, repelling two near ambushes that threatened to
breach the vulnerable perimeter of his platoon’s patrol base,” according
to the narrative.
Washington Time
Kabul Time
London Time
