- SURNAME
Blish
- FORENAME
David
- UNIT
3 SF Group
- RANK
Sergeant First Class
- 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 Sergeant First Class David A. Blish, United States Army, for conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity in connection with military operations against the enemy on 24 October 2012, as Senior Communications Sergeant, Special Forces Operational Detachment Alpha-3124, Special Operations Task Force-East. Nerkh, Wardak Province, Afghanistan in support of Operation ENDURING FREEDOM. Sergeant Blish distinguished himself by extraordinary valor under accurate and heavy enemy small arms and sniper fire during combat operations. Sergeant Blish's personal courage and commitment to mission accomplishment in combat greatly contributed to the success of Operation AMAL KARD SYGANA II. 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, and the United States Army.
NARRATIVE TO ACCOMPANY AWARD:
Sergeant First Class David A. Blish, United States Army, heroically distinguished himself by exceptionally valorous conduct in the face of the enemy of the United States as Senior Communications Sergeant, Special Forces Operational Detachment Alpha-3124, Special Operations Task Force-East, Nerkh, Wardak Province, Afghanistan in support of Operation ENDURING FREEDOM. Sergeant Blish was the Senior Communications Sergeant in charge of all radio traffic and procedures during a combat operation in eastern Afghanistan. During the mission, Sergeant Blish volunteered for multiple dangerous tactics, exposed himself numerous times to enemy fire to maintain communications, and put the mission and his teammates' well-being in front of his own. On 24 October 2012, while under heavy enemy fire, Sergeant Blish established satellite communications resulting in approval from higher to commence with air-to-ground engagements. These engagements allowed the team to decisively engage enemy personnel. After the air-to-ground attacks, Sergeant Blish volunteered to move into a known enemy safe haven in the highly vegetated low ground and conduct a battle damage assessment. Knowing the risks involved, he entered the area without hesitation. Once on the objective, his element started receiving effective enemy fire from eight enemy dismounts inside the thick green zone. Despite the immediate threat to his life, Sergeant Blish assaulted towards the enemy, personally neutralizing 3 enemy personnel at a range of 5-20 meters with his rifle. Despite this close enemy engagement, he insisted on completing the mission and pushed further into the objective area where he had no effective cover or concealment. During this operation, the enemy attempted to surround Sergeant Blish's element, but he continued to push into their known defensive positions. His actions helped recover one machine gun, one AK-47, destroy two enemy motorcycles, one mortar tube, multiple boxes of ammunition, and eliminate five insurgents. After confirming a total of 13 enemy personnel were neutralized, Sergeant Blish's element started moving out of the green zone. On the way out to link up with their team, they were ambushed from over a dozen concealed locations. During the ambush, the Team Sergeant was wounded. Sergeant Blish immediately established satellite communications and called in a medical evacuation while still being decisively engaged. After relaying the nine-line, Sergeant Blish moved the wounded teammates to a secure helicopter landing zone while constantly receiving effective enemy fire. Once at the helicopter landing zone, he exposed himself to fire once again, to mark the landing zone for the medical evacuation. As a result of his actions throughout the mission, communications were constantly maintained, over three dozen enemy fighters were neutralized, and his Team Sergeant's life was saved. 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, and the United States Army.
NARRATIVE TO ACCOMPANY AWARD:
Sergeant First Class David A. Blish, United States Army, heroically distinguished himself by exceptionally valorous conduct in the face of the enemy of the United States as Senior Communications Sergeant, Special Forces Operational Detachment Alpha-3124, Special Operations Task Force-East, Nerkh, Wardak Province, Afghanistan in support of Operation ENDURING FREEDOM. Sergeant Blish was the Senior Communications Sergeant in charge of all radio traffic and procedures during a combat operation in eastern Afghanistan. During the mission, Sergeant Blish volunteered for multiple dangerous tactics, exposed himself numerous times to enemy fire to maintain communications, and put the mission and his teammates' well-being in front of his own. On 24 October 2012, while under heavy enemy fire, Sergeant Blish established satellite communications resulting in approval from higher to commence with air-to-ground engagements. These engagements allowed the team to decisively engage enemy personnel. After the air-to-ground attacks, Sergeant Blish volunteered to move into a known enemy safe haven in the highly vegetated low ground and conduct a battle damage assessment. Knowing the risks involved, he entered the area without hesitation. Once on the objective, his element started receiving effective enemy fire from eight enemy dismounts inside the thick green zone. Despite the immediate threat to his life, Sergeant Blish assaulted towards the enemy, personally neutralizing 3 enemy personnel at a range of 5-20 meters with his rifle. Despite this close enemy engagement, he insisted on completing the mission and pushed further into the objective area where he had no effective cover or concealment. During this operation, the enemy attempted to surround Sergeant Blish's element, but he continued to push into their known defensive positions. His actions helped recover one machine gun, one AK-47, destroy two enemy motorcycles, one mortar tube, multiple boxes of ammunition, and eliminate five insurgents. After confirming a total of 13 enemy personnel were neutralized, Sergeant Blish's element started moving out of the green zone. On the way out to link up with their team, they were ambushed from over a dozen concealed locations. During the ambush, the Team Sergeant was wounded. Sergeant Blish immediately established satellite communications and called in a medical evacuation while still being decisively engaged. After relaying the nine-line, Sergeant Blish moved the wounded teammates to a secure helicopter landing zone while constantly receiving effective enemy fire. Once at the helicopter landing zone, he exposed himself to fire once again, to mark the landing zone for the medical evacuation. As a result of his actions throughout the mission, communications were constantly maintained, over three dozen enemy fighters were neutralized, and his Team Sergeant's life was saved. 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, and the United States Army.
WEB LINKS:
https://valor.militarytimes.com/hero/140910
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