Reply With QuoteIf what he says is true, then call it out and let the word see.
MoH recipient Meyer blasts Army officers in new book
WEST MILFORD, N.J. — During one of the Afghan war’s ugliest battles, Medal of Honor recipient Dakota Meyer was nearly taken prisoner at gunpoint but fended off his would-be captor by beating him to death with a baseball-sized rock, according to the Marine’s forthcoming book.
That is among several revelations in “Into the Fire: A Firsthand Account of the Most Extraordinary Battle in the Afghan War.” It chronicles the disastrous Sept. 8, 2009, battle in Ganjgal, a mountainside village in Kunar province where U.S. Marines and soldiers, and their Afghan counterparts, were pinned down under fire for hours. The book, due to be released Sept. 25, is co-authored by Meyer and Bing West, a best-selling writer and former Marine infantryman.
Throughout the book, Meyer, a sergeant in the Marine Corps Individual Ready Reserve, takes aim at several targets — especially the Army officers he blames for allowing members of his team to die that day. He describes perceived flaws in the mission’s planning, outlines how officers at a nearby base refused to send help and questions why an Army captain who fought alongside him, Will Swenson, still hasn’t received any valor award despite being recommended for the Medal of Honor nearly three years ago.
Marine Corps Times obtained an advance copy of the book and met with Meyer on Aug. 7 here in New Jersey, where he was visiting friends. In a wide-ranging interview, he discussed its contents, his memories and what it’s like living in the public eye as a Medal of Honor recipient.
Foremost, “it’s a matter of capturing what happened,” Meyer said of the details included in the book. “It’s all about being held accountable for your actions in life.”
http://www.marinecorpstimes.com/news...-honor-082012/
If what he says is true, then call it out and let the word see.
I am guessing his LT was a ****bag or a giant pussy.
And left him and his Capt. to be torn apart in enemy crossfire.Originally Posted by Albatross
Sgt Meyers right, this goes back to denying indirect fires by second guessing the troops in contact desperate calls for a Bull**** policy to keep Karzais mouth shut.
I'd read that Capt Swenson attended Meyer's MoH ceremony. If he's awarded the MoH the coverage of his ceremony will be extremely interesting, given the publicity about this tragedy.
I'm guessing he didn't have an LT as his immediate CO? In those types of units, Captain is where it starts if I'm not mistaken.
Interestingly the Army has taken the incident and turned it into a virtual training aid with an animated video to demonstrate leadership failure and mission unpreparedness. At least it is being used as learning point, and it's not being swept under the rug.
Gonna read this one.
Just to clarify, Sgt. Meyer's direct CO was 1st Lt. Michael Johnson, the commander of Marine Embedded Training Team 2-8. He was killed along with two other Marines and a Navy corpsman in the village of Ganjgal while Sgt. Meyer was trying to rescue them. They had advanced into the village with the Afghan soldiers they were advising and were trapped there by the Taliban attack. The failure in the chain of command lies with the Army battalion's TOC that was supposed to be supporting them, but instead repeatedly denied requests from Lt. Johnson, CAPT Swenson, Sgt. Meyer and others who requested fire support and an adjacent Army platoon to assist in the attack on the village. The tragedy of the story is that the deaths of Gunnery Sgt. Johnson, Staff Sgt. Kenefick, 1st Lt. Johnson, and HM3 Layton probably could have been prevented had the TOC given them the necessary support.
Wow, they denied them as well as the Army unit adjacent? Very bothersome.
There was an Army platoon from that battalion that approached the village, but when Sgt. Meyer asked them to join the attack, they stated that they did not have permission from higher to enter the valley. Obviously, their support could have been critical in aiding Meyer's efforts.
Wow. How did heads not roll after that? I'll definitely have to pick up this book and read it, hands down.
Is there a link for it? Youtube maybe?Interestingly the Army has taken the incident and turned it into a virtual training aid with an animated video to demonstrate leadership failure and mission unpreparedness. At least it is being used as learning point, and it's not being swept under the rug.
This video has some scenes from the training simulation. Pretty good interview and overall synopsis:
http://www.cbsnews.com/video/watch/?id=7381514n
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