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FORT HOOD, Texas – Tasked with clearing improvised explosive
devices from roads, a convoy made its way down a remote roadway.
An explosion from an IED announced to the Soldiers that an
ambush was underway.
With hostile fire hammering down on the
convoy, two Soldiers regrouped and charged toward the enemy.
For actions on that day, one Cav Trooper was awarded for his valor.
Sgt. Corey Taylor, a Modesto, Calif., native and combat engineer
with 3rd Brigade Engineer Battalion, 3rd Brigade Combat Team, 1st
Cavalry Division received the Bronze Star Medal with a “V” device
April 8 at Fort Hood, Texas, for his actions during the ambush.
Sgt. Corey Taylor, a Modesto, Calif., native and combat engineer
with 3rd Brigade Engineer Battalion, 3rd Brigade Combat Team "Greywolf,"
1st Cavalry Division, stands in a ceremony on April 8, 2014 at Fort
Hood, Texas. Taylor received the Bronze Star Medal with a "V" device
for his actions during a deployment in 2007. (U.S. Army photo by
Sgt. Brandon Banzhaf) |
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 Sgt.
Corey Taylor (right), a Modesto, Calif., native and combat engineer
with 3rd Brigade Engineer Battalion, 3rd Brigade Combat Team "Greywolf,"
1st Cavalry Division, hugs his father, Larry Taylor, on April 8,
2014 at Fort Hood, Texas after receiving the Bronze Star Medal
with a "V" device for his actions during a deployment in 2007. (U.S.
Army photo by Sgt. Brandon Banzhaf) |
“With disregard for his own safety and still under
effective enemy fire, Taylor demonstrated remarkable
discipline as he and I began to bound into the enemy ambush,
towards the IED trigger man and three enemy fire-team
fighting positions,” said Staff Sgt. Lincoln Dockery,
Taylor's former squad leader with Company A, Special Troops
Battalion, 173rd Airborne Brigade Combat Team as they were
attached to Task Force Rock in Asadabad, Afghanistan.
On Nov. 16, 2007, the Task Force Rock Route Clearance
Platoon received the mission to clear the
Korengal Road from the village of Kandegal to the village of
Omar.
The task force had credible human and signal
evidence that anti-coalition forces had emplaced an IED
along the Korengal Road.
“We were told there was a
100 percent chance we would get hit,” said Taylor. “We were
always ready, so we were already prepared.”
Taylor
was a part of the light platoon that was composed of Humvees
and a Husky. Elements of a heavy platoon were mixed into the
convoy due to the intelligence of a probable attack.
The route clearance platoon departed Camp Wright and
traveled towards Korengal Road.
Walking along beside
the vehicles were dismounted Soldiers using mine detectors
trying to locate hidden IEDs.
“After we passed the
village of Omar, the husky mine detection vehicle was hit by
a command detonated [IED], which resulted in a total
immobility kill on the vehicle,” said then-Spc. Adam Hay, a
Soldier with the route clearance package platoon.
Taylor was behind the lead vehicle using a mine detector
when the IED was triggered.
After the explosion,
enemy forces began attacking the convoy with
rocket-propelled grenades, RPK machine guns and small arms
fire.
“I took shrapnel down my leg from the initial
blast,” said Taylor. “I didn't notice it. My adrenaline was
going. We got ourselves together and fired back.”
The
Soldiers returned fire with M-72 Light Anti-tank Weapons,
M-136 Anti-tank Rocket Launchers and M-4 Carbines to gain
the upper hand.
“Staff Sergeant Dockery and I then
pushed up to check on the husky operator,” Taylor said. “He
recovered from the blast and started to return fire.”
Taylor and Dockery then moved toward the enemy. One
would provide cover fire as the other would move up. They
repeated the process until they reached enemy positions.
“Using individual movement techniques, Taylor and I
advanced up the rugged terrain and closed the distance
between ourselves and the enemy,” Dockery said.
After
getting within 25 meters, Taylor used his M-4 carbine while
passing his hand grenades to Dockery to employ.
Because the two Soldiers gained suppression on the enemy
position, 1st Lt. William Cromie was able to reach their
position and resupply them.
While Cromie provided
suppression fire, the two resupplied Soldiers crawled over
more rocky terrain to close the final 25 meters between
themselves and the enemy.
“We gained a foothold in
the building that had previously housed the enemy fighting
positions,” said Dockery. “The enemy retreated from their
fighting positions back up the side of the valley," With the
ambush disrupted, Cromie was able to bring a larger element
forward into the area where Taylor and Dockery were.
“We found where the enemy triggered the IED,” Taylor said.
“There was the command wire, battery pack and a trigger
device.”
After returning to camp and seeking medical
attention, Taylor returned to duty 48 hours later.
“I
was exhausted. All I wanted to do was call my family,”
Taylor said.
Hay said that Dockery and Taylor's
“quick reaction to enemy contact and immense bravery under
heavy enemy fire after both had been wounded that day saved
lives.”
By U.S. Army Sgt. Brandon Banzhaf
Provided
through DVIDS
Copyright 2014
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