- SURNAME
Lavery
- FORENAME
Nicholas
- UNIT
3 SF Group
- RANK
Staff Sergeant
- NUMBER
- AWARD
Silver Star
- PLACE
Afghanistan 2013
- ADDITIONAL INFORMATION
CITATION:
Silver Star : The President of the United States of America, authorized by Act of Congress July 9, 1918 (amended by an act of July 25, 1963), takes pleasure in presenting the Silver Star to Staff Sergeant Nicholas C. Lavery, United States Army, for conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity in connection with military operations against the enemy on 11 March 2013, as a Detachment Weapons Sergeant, Special Forces Operational Detachment-Alpha 3126, Special Operations Task Force-East, Vsp Jalrez, Wardak Province, Afghanistan in support of Operation ENDURING FREEDOM. Sergeant Lavery distinguished himself through gallantry and intrepidity by selflessly exposing himself to extremely effective machine gun and small arms fire in order to neutralize the enemy, and care for wounded soldiers of ODA 3126, the infantry squad uplift, and Afghan National Army Special Forces. His actions allowed the element to recover all personnel, and secure the VSP for medical evacuation with no additional loss of life. His heroic actions and bravery under fire inspired the men of the VSP to continue the mission and saved the lives of his teammates. His actions are in keeping with the finest traditions of military heroism and reflect distinct credit upon himself, the Combined Joint Special Operations Task Force-Afghanistan, the Special Operations Joint Task Force Afghanistan, the United States Forces-Afghanistan, and the United States Army. NARRATIVE TO ACCOMPANY AWARD: Staff Sergeant Nicholas C. Lavery, United States Army, heroically distinguished himself by exceptionally valorous conduct in the face of the enemy of the United States as a Detachment Weapons Sergeant, Special Forces Operational Detachment-Alpha (ODA) 3126, Special Operations Task Force-East, near Village Stability Platform (VSP) Jalrez, Wardak Province, Afghanistan in support of Operation ENDURING FREEDOM. On 11 March 2013, ODA 3126, Afghan National Army Special Forces (ANASF) Operational Detachment-Alpha 4060 were conducting a joint patrol brief in the motor pool at VSP Jalrez, Jalrez District, Wardak Province. The ODA leaders had concluded their brief and were about to conduct communications checks when an Afghan National Police (ANP) officer operating a truck mounted machine gun opened fire on the formation from a distance of 25 feet. Simultaneously, 15-20 insurgents 150 to 300 meters south of VSP Jalrez initiated an attack directed at the VSP with machine guns and small arms. During the initial burst, 2 United States (US) Soldiers, 2 ANP officers and 2 ANASF Soldiers had fallen and 10 U.S. military personnel, 2 ANASF Soldiers, 3 linguists, 2 Afghan Uniformed Police Officers, and the Deputy Chief of Police were wounded. The ODA and ANASF returned fire with organic weapons in order to suppress both inside and outside threats as the casualty collection point was being established. Sergeant Lavery was attending the joint patrol brief, and was standing beside another US Soldier when the PKM gunner opened fire on the group. Due to the rate of PKM fire, and their extreme proximity to the gunner, each man had only an instant to react. In an act that had become familiar to his teammates, Sergeant Lavery reached out to protect the man next to him. His hands found the Soldier whom he pushed backwards while simultaneously stepping in front of him; placing himself between the Soldier and the PKM gunner. Sergeant Lavery was wounded immediately thereafter by a round to his right upper leg, which shattered his femur and severed his femoral artery. The gunshot knocked Sergeant Lavery down, on top of the Soldier. From this new position, physically covering the Soldier from the continuous volume of fire, Sergeant Lavery yelled at the Soldier to move to cover. As the firefight developed around him, and with a life threatening injury, Sergeant Lavery continued to yell out directions until his teammates could move him to a safe position at the Casualty Collection Point. Sergeant Lavery made the selfless choice to exchange his own safety for the safety of his teammate. His actions are in keeping with the finest traditions of military heroism and reflect distinct credit upon himself, the Combined Joint Special Operations Task Force-Afghanistan, the Special Operations Joint Task-Afghanistan, and the United States Army.
SEE MORE RECIPENTS OF THIS AWARD
SEE MORE RECIPENTS OF THIS AWARD
WEB LINKS:
https://valor.militarytimes.com/hero/140914
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