USA Patriotism! ... Heroes > Ronald D. Strickland

		On May 30, 2007, SFC Ronald Strickland demonstrated exceptional courage in the face of more than fifty enemy fighters, a force nearly ten times the size of his element. He remained cool and calm throughout the nightlong engagement that followed, encountering the enemy at close range yet completing an unanticipated recovery mission. Strickland was assigned to D Company, 1st Battalion, 508th Parachute Infantry Regiment, 4th Brigade Combat Team. It was early evening on the 30th when his platoon, part of Task Force 1Fury, was in the process of establishing a blocking position in the southern portion of the battalion's area of operation in the vicinity of Kajaki Sofla, Helmand, Afghanistan. They witnessed a CH-47 Chinook helicopter being shot down by enemy fire after it had just dropped off its load of paratroopers on the opposite side of the river. Without hesitation, Strickland started moving his platoon towards the crash site to prevent the Taliban from capturing his fellow soldiers. When he arrived at the site, he dismounted his truck and grabbed six of his paratroopers. They quickly set up a security posture, and within three minutes the first of the enemies arrived at the location. The team engaged, but they were clearly outnumbered. Strickland received intel from a aerial forward observer that friendly reinforcements were en route but had to escape an ambush first. Knowing this, he and his soldiers were able to hold off at least 30 enemy fighters
attempting to get to the crash site. When the friendly reinforcements finally reached the scene, Strickland fought his way back to the trucks to establish a better defensive posture around the crash area and then shifted his efforts toward the recovery of the seven coalition soldiers in the wreckage.