- SURNAME
Bocanegra
- FORENAME
Julio
- UNIT
7 SF Group (Det A-776)
- RANK
Master Sergeant
- NUMBER
- AWARD
Silver Star
- PLACE
Afghanistan 2008
- ADDITIONAL INFORMATION
from Houston,Texas
born 27.8.1969 Brooklyn,New York
son of Julio and Maria Bocanegra
father of Nancy and Judith
husband of Captain Jennifer Bocanegra
entered service 1989
1 Bn 504 PIR
2 Bn 325 AIR
82nd Airborne Division (Long Range Surveillance Det.)
2nd Infantry Division
JROTC
JOTB
graduated SF November 2002
7 SF Group (Det-776)
served Columbia and Afghanistan
7 SFG (Det A-774 + 771 + 773(later 7313))
USAJFKSWC,Fort Bragg 2010
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 Master Sergeant Julio Lionel Bocanegra, Jr., United States Army, for exceptionally valorous achievement during Operation ENDURING FREEDOM. As the Team Sergeant for Operational Detachment Alpha 7313 in Paktika, Afghanistan, on 26 August 2008. His heroic actions during combat operations in Afghanistan were critical to his element's survival in combat against larger enemy forces. His bravery is in keeping with the finest traditions of military heroism and reflect distinct credit upon himself, this command, and the United States Army.
NARRATIVE TO ACCOMPANY AWARD:
Master Sergeant Julio Lionel Bocanegra, Jr., Special Forces, heroically distinguished himself by exceptionally valorous conduct in the face of the enemy of the United States as an Operations Sergeant for Operational Detachment Alpha 7313, Special Operations Task Force - 73, Combined Joint Special Operations Task Force - Afghanistan, Bagram Airfield, Afghanistan, in support of Operation ENDURING FREEDOM on 26 August 2008. Sergeant Bocanegra distinguished himself by demonstrating courage beyond the call of duty against a force three times larger than his own element. On the morning of 26 August 2008, Sergeant Bocanegra's team was in route to Orgun-E to conduct operations. During the movement to Orgun-E, Sergeant Bocanegra's convoy was ambushed. The ambush was initiated by enemy forces utilizing PKM, RPG, and Semi-Automatic fire from several elevated positions. Sergeant Bocanegra's vehicle was caught in the center of the kill zone along with an Afghan National Police Ford Ranger. The Afghan National Police Vehicle came to a stop due to the amount of fire they were receiving. An Afghan National Policeman who was driving an All Terrain Vehicle moved his bike near the Ford Ranger in order to provide more fires for the downed vehicle. Almost immediately after the ambush was initiated, the Remote Weapon System gunner in Sergeant Bocanegra's vehicle (RG-31 #3) began to shoot his weapon. The weapon was going through ammunition quickly when he gave the signal that he was going to reload the weapon system. As soon as Sergeant Bocanegra attempted to open his door to provide cover fire for the gunner, the side of the door was hit by enemy fire. Disregarding the accurate fire, Sergeant Bocanegra along with the engineer, and medical sergeants exposed themselves to provide cover fire while the weapons sergeant reloaded his weapon system. On the gunner's third reload the medical sergeant was shot in the neck. The engineer sergeant tended to the medical sergeant's wound. Sergeant Bocanegra continued to provide cover fire while the weapons sergeant reloaded his weapon. Once the weapons sergeant reloaded his weapon and returned to his vehicle, Sergeant Bocanegra jumped back into the passenger seat and called the lead vehicle to see why the convoy had not moved. Sergeant Bocanegra realized the Ford Ranger and an All Terrain Vehicle were stopped immediately to their front. Sergeant Bocanegra then told his driver (Senior Communications Sergeant) to move up as close as he could to the Ford Ranger to provide the Afghani National Policemen with cover from the rear. Once Sergeant Bocanegra's vehicle was in position behind the vehicle, Sergeant Bocanegra and his driver realized that three of the four individuals were shot and the driver of the vehicle was not going to make an attempt to retrieve his fellow policemen. Disregarding his own personal safety and exposing himself to enemy fire, Sergeant Bocanegra left his vehicle to aid the wounded. As soon as he jumped out, an RPG flew by the rear of the vehicle and hit a few meters away. Fortunately it did not explode. Sergeant Bocanegra then took cover behind the front of his vehicle and yelled at the policeman who was not shot to move while he engaged the enemy. The policeman still did not move. Sergeant Bocanegra then disregarded the enemy fire and picked up one of the wounded and placed him into the vehicle while continuing to receive effective fire. Continuing to ignore the danger to his life, Sergeant Bocanegra then picked up a second policeman with multiple gunshot wounds to both legs and placed him into the vehicle. Sergeant Bocanegra ran to the third policeman who was down near the front of the vehicle and quickly saw that he was shot in the neck and hand. Finally, the Afghan driver came to Sergeant Bocanegra's aid and together they controlled the policeman's neck and put the wounded policeman in the vehicle. Sergeant Bocanegra then motioned the driver to start driving. The Ford Ranger was able to move out of the kill zone with three flat tires. Sergeant Bocanegra was heading back to his vehicle when the second RG-31 (RG-31 #2) came to provide additional cover fire allowing for the convoy to move out. Sergeant Bocanegra lost his ability to communicate with the rest of the team because his radio had dropped its crypto while he was retrieving the wounded. As the second RG-31 was passing, Sergeant Bocanegra decided to recover the unmanned All Terrain Vehicle by following behind the second RG-31. The second RG-31 started accelerating, leaving Sergeant Bocanegra exposed to sporadic enemy fire. Sergeant Bocanegra decided to leave the All Terrain Vehicle and return to his vehicle. Once inside his vehicle, Sergeant Bocanegra instructed his driver to bypass all the other vehicles and take the lead. Sergeant Bocanegra took the convoy to a safe distance away in order to establish a Casualty Collection Point. Sergeant Bocanegra then moved his element around to secure the area and had his mortar crew get into action to provide indirect fire if need be, shortly afterwards, Close Air Support arrived and engaged the enemy. Master Sergeant Bocanegra's actions on that day directly saved the lives of four policemen and enabled the convoy to start moving out of the kill zone and to the Casualty Collection Point evacuating six wounded soldiers. His actions are in keeping with the finest traditions of military heroism and reflect distinct credit upon himself, Special Operations Task Force - 73, the Combined Joint Special Operations Task Force - Afghanistan, Special Operations Command Central, and the United States Army.
NARRATIVE TO ACCOMPANY AWARD:
Master Sergeant Julio Lionel Bocanegra, Jr., Special Forces, heroically distinguished himself by exceptionally valorous conduct in the face of the enemy of the United States as an Operations Sergeant for Operational Detachment Alpha 7313, Special Operations Task Force - 73, Combined Joint Special Operations Task Force - Afghanistan, Bagram Airfield, Afghanistan, in support of Operation ENDURING FREEDOM on 26 August 2008. Sergeant Bocanegra distinguished himself by demonstrating courage beyond the call of duty against a force three times larger than his own element. On the morning of 26 August 2008, Sergeant Bocanegra's team was in route to Orgun-E to conduct operations. During the movement to Orgun-E, Sergeant Bocanegra's convoy was ambushed. The ambush was initiated by enemy forces utilizing PKM, RPG, and Semi-Automatic fire from several elevated positions. Sergeant Bocanegra's vehicle was caught in the center of the kill zone along with an Afghan National Police Ford Ranger. The Afghan National Police Vehicle came to a stop due to the amount of fire they were receiving. An Afghan National Policeman who was driving an All Terrain Vehicle moved his bike near the Ford Ranger in order to provide more fires for the downed vehicle. Almost immediately after the ambush was initiated, the Remote Weapon System gunner in Sergeant Bocanegra's vehicle (RG-31 #3) began to shoot his weapon. The weapon was going through ammunition quickly when he gave the signal that he was going to reload the weapon system. As soon as Sergeant Bocanegra attempted to open his door to provide cover fire for the gunner, the side of the door was hit by enemy fire. Disregarding the accurate fire, Sergeant Bocanegra along with the engineer, and medical sergeants exposed themselves to provide cover fire while the weapons sergeant reloaded his weapon system. On the gunner's third reload the medical sergeant was shot in the neck. The engineer sergeant tended to the medical sergeant's wound. Sergeant Bocanegra continued to provide cover fire while the weapons sergeant reloaded his weapon. Once the weapons sergeant reloaded his weapon and returned to his vehicle, Sergeant Bocanegra jumped back into the passenger seat and called the lead vehicle to see why the convoy had not moved. Sergeant Bocanegra realized the Ford Ranger and an All Terrain Vehicle were stopped immediately to their front. Sergeant Bocanegra then told his driver (Senior Communications Sergeant) to move up as close as he could to the Ford Ranger to provide the Afghani National Policemen with cover from the rear. Once Sergeant Bocanegra's vehicle was in position behind the vehicle, Sergeant Bocanegra and his driver realized that three of the four individuals were shot and the driver of the vehicle was not going to make an attempt to retrieve his fellow policemen. Disregarding his own personal safety and exposing himself to enemy fire, Sergeant Bocanegra left his vehicle to aid the wounded. As soon as he jumped out, an RPG flew by the rear of the vehicle and hit a few meters away. Fortunately it did not explode. Sergeant Bocanegra then took cover behind the front of his vehicle and yelled at the policeman who was not shot to move while he engaged the enemy. The policeman still did not move. Sergeant Bocanegra then disregarded the enemy fire and picked up one of the wounded and placed him into the vehicle while continuing to receive effective fire. Continuing to ignore the danger to his life, Sergeant Bocanegra then picked up a second policeman with multiple gunshot wounds to both legs and placed him into the vehicle. Sergeant Bocanegra ran to the third policeman who was down near the front of the vehicle and quickly saw that he was shot in the neck and hand. Finally, the Afghan driver came to Sergeant Bocanegra's aid and together they controlled the policeman's neck and put the wounded policeman in the vehicle. Sergeant Bocanegra then motioned the driver to start driving. The Ford Ranger was able to move out of the kill zone with three flat tires. Sergeant Bocanegra was heading back to his vehicle when the second RG-31 (RG-31 #2) came to provide additional cover fire allowing for the convoy to move out. Sergeant Bocanegra lost his ability to communicate with the rest of the team because his radio had dropped its crypto while he was retrieving the wounded. As the second RG-31 was passing, Sergeant Bocanegra decided to recover the unmanned All Terrain Vehicle by following behind the second RG-31. The second RG-31 started accelerating, leaving Sergeant Bocanegra exposed to sporadic enemy fire. Sergeant Bocanegra decided to leave the All Terrain Vehicle and return to his vehicle. Once inside his vehicle, Sergeant Bocanegra instructed his driver to bypass all the other vehicles and take the lead. Sergeant Bocanegra took the convoy to a safe distance away in order to establish a Casualty Collection Point. Sergeant Bocanegra then moved his element around to secure the area and had his mortar crew get into action to provide indirect fire if need be, shortly afterwards, Close Air Support arrived and engaged the enemy. Master Sergeant Bocanegra's actions on that day directly saved the lives of four policemen and enabled the convoy to start moving out of the kill zone and to the Casualty Collection Point evacuating six wounded soldiers. His actions are in keeping with the finest traditions of military heroism and reflect distinct credit upon himself, Special Operations Task Force - 73, the Combined Joint Special Operations Task Force - Afghanistan, Special Operations Command Central, and the United States Army.
WEB LINKS:
https://valor.militarytimes.com/hero/29825
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