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Bronze Star Recipient Credits Marines for Medal
(May 16, 2011) | 
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Master Gunnery Sgt. Orlando Zuniga, director of Combat Skills Training school, Combat Logistics Regiment 17, 1st Marine Logistics Group, displays the Bronze Star Medal he received during a ceremony held at Camp Pendleton, Calif., May 5,
2011. |
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Camp Pendleton, Calif (May 12, 2011) -- Master
Gunnery Sgt. Orlando Zuniga was awarded the Bronze
Star Medal here, May 5.
Zuniga, 42, from San
Antonio, received the medal for actions while
deployed with 3rd Battalion, 7th Marines, Regimental
Combat Team 2, 1st Marine Division (Forward), I
Marine Expeditionary Force (Forward), from March 18,
2010, to Oct. 1, 2010.
Although he received
the reward, he credited the Marines who were under
his charge at the time for making it possible.
“I was happy to receive it, but to me it was not
that big of a deal,” said Zuniga. “It was something
I got for the work the Marines under me did. The
Marines that worked for me are the ones who got this
award, not me. I was just the one receiving all the
praise at the end.”
According to the
citation, while Zuniga was serving as the operations
chief for 3/7, he tracked and distributed accurate
and timely reports for 274 improvised explosive
device strikes |
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and finds, 27 enemy cache finds, 201 small-arms fire
engagements and 47 indirect fire attacks. “What we
did was receive and process information, then send
it back out to keep the troops informed,” said
Zuniga. “We made sure they had all the support that
they needed while they are out there in the fight.”
Zuniga joined the Marine Corps in April 1987 and
spent most of his career as an infantryman. He spoke
about how great the logistics Marines he worked with
performed and how he took support Marines for
granted earlier in his career. He began to
appreciate the logistics side more when he worked as
the assistant operations chief with 1st Battalion,
23rd Marines in Houston.
He said he realized
the logistics Marines worked just as hard as the
grunts.
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Master Gunnery Sgt. Orlando Zuniga, director of the Combat Skills Training school, Combat Logistics Regiment 17, 1st Marine Logistics Group, salutes Col. William Pitman, assistant chief of staff, G-3, 1st Marine Logistics Group, during a Bronze Star ceremony held at Camp Pendleton, Calif., May 5,
2011. |
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“The Marines I worked with inside the [Combat
Operations Center] worked just as hard, just as long
to try to keep the support for the Marines out there
going,” he said. “I think that's something that
people miss; I know I always missed it as a
infantryman. I always took it for granted that the
logistics and support people are just there.”
He also added that he was happy to be surrounded
by such a great group of Marines.
“I've
worked with some great infantry Marines over at 3/7,
but the one thing I wanted to say is the only reason
I got this award is because the [Marines] that
worked for me in the COC were so good at their job,”
said Zuniga. “I couldn't have done it without the
communications, |
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administration, logistics, data and intel guys. They
were the ones that made my command center work so
good.” |
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Article and photos By USMC LCpl. Jerrick J. Griffin
1st Marine Logistics Group
Copyright 2011
Provided
through DVIDS
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