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Portland Marine Engages Enemy, Leads Team To Safety
(May 2, 2011) | 
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FORWARD OPERATING BASE PAYNE, Afghanistan (4/29/2011) – For much of
their deployment, Marines of 3rd Light Armored Reconnaissance Battalion
have found an insurgent force which was reluctant to fight them toe to
toe. Rather, the enemy has relied more on improvised explosive devices
and indirect fire. |
Members of 3rd Platoon, E Company, 3rd Light Armored Reconnaissance Battalion, stand in front of their Light Armored Vehicle 25 at Forward Operating Base Payne in Helmand province, Afghanistan, April 26,
2011. From left to right: Staff Sgt. Yobani Tejada, 3rd platoon sergeant; Cpl. Samuel E. Sirman, combat engineer; Petty Officer 1st Class Joshua I. White, corpsman; Lance Cpl. Luis Maldonado-Santiago, LAV 25 gunner; Pfc. Tyler A. Nikkel, LAV 25 driver; Lance Cpl. Levi R. Hale, rifleman; and Lance Cpl. Jesse K. Knerr (center), section leader. |
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However, on April 20, Lance Cpl. Jesse K. Knerr, section leader for
3rd Platoon, E Company, 3rd LAR, and native of Portland, Ore., found
that when insurgents have their backs against the wall they are left
with no choice but to fight.
The mission of the day was to
conduct a search of an area that hadn't been explored by coalition
forces, but was suspected of being a site for possible insurgent
fighting positions.
When Knerr and his fire team patrolled
the area, they found structures made of rock, which blended into the
ridge of the mountain. This was different than the buildings they
were accustomed to seeing, which were mainly mud huts.
Knerr
signaled for his team to |
search the structures, where they found battery packs,
rocket-propelled grenades, enemy propaganda and half-eaten meals
that were still warm.
After radioing in the intelligence,
Knerr and his fire team followed a trail outside the buildings,
which led up the ridge of the mountain to a small cave with an even
bigger cave about 100 meters above it.
As they walked up the
ridge, the fire team found fighting positions all along the ridge.
Suddenly, they began taking small-arms fire from insurgents in the
bigger cave, only about a football length away from their positions.
The fire team immediately found cover. It was around 4:30
p.m. when Staff Sgt. Yobani Tejada, platoon sergeant for 3rd
Platoon, received a radio call from Knerr stating that his team was
engaged by enemy fire on the mountain ridge.
Tejada, who was
in a Light Armored Vehicle 25 at the bottom of the mountain, told
the Marines to find cover so they could provide fire from their
turret and call in air support.
Knerr realized he had to come
up with a plan which would get his Marines out of there safely.
Spotting an area which supplied sufficient cover, Knerr directed
the Marines to suppress the enemy's fire while each of them advanced
toward the area.
After the Marines were clear, Knerr radioed
back to Tejada, who had two vehicles simultaneously suppressing the
enemy's fire. The insurgents returned fire with rocket-propelled
grenades, but came no closer than 100 meters of the vehicles. Air
support arrived in the form of F-18s, which destroyed the enemy
positions.
Afterward, Knerr was thankful that he and his fire
team made it out safely.
“I knew that we all had to come
together at that very moment when we were under fire and execute my
plan perfectly or lives could be lost,” said Knerr. “In a situation
like that, there is no room for error.”
Petty Officer 1st
Class Joshua I. White, a corpsman who was with the fire team, said
he and the other fire team members give credit to Tejada for
preparing them for the situation.
“He's always told us to
strengthen our mind, or we'll lose it,” said White.
In this
particular battle, the strong mental awareness of Knerr and his fire
team made all the difference in successfully getting the team out of
a dangerous situation. |
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Article and photo by USMC Cpl. Adam Leyendecker
Regional Command Southwest
Copyright 2011
Provided
through DVIDS
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