Marine Raider awarded Silver Star for Mali operation

The Marine Corps Times reports that an unnamed Marine Raider was awarded a Silver Star Medal for his valor in an operation against terrorists who took over the Raddison Blu hotel in Bamako, Mali in 2015;

The elite operator with 3rd Marine Raider Battalion out of Camp Lejeune, North Carolina, was serving as a senior leader with the American commando force when his unit got word of a terrorist attack at the hotel, according to a command release.

The Raider kitted up and devised a plan with his fellow teammates en route to the hotel, where terrorists associated with Al Qaida in the Islamic Maghreb, or AQIM, had just stormed a hotel frequented by Westerners, holding nearly 170 hostages.

“There was very little time to respond,” the Raider said in a command release. “We fell back on what we had prepared for. There were points in which the situation became more intense, ambiguous and scary. At times, the situation we faced was confusing and difficult. However, our purpose was clear. That clarity and unity of purpose allowed us to navigate the ambiguity and manage our emotions to accomplish the mission at hand.”

Their actions resulted in the rescue of about 170 hostages and only one Marine was injured in the operation.

“It was one of those defining points in life where you realize you are exactly where you belong,” the Raider said in the command release.

Despite the intensity of the battle, the Raider said he “knew beyond all doubt” what needed to be done and that failure was never on his mind.

“Every American we found and pulled out of the hotel only increased my desire to keep going,” he said in the release. “Every time the smoke cleared a little more, I felt both exposed and enabled.”

Thanks to AW1Ed for the link.

Category: Marine Corps