OT - Profiles of Valor - US Army Major Ortega

[Ysabel Kid]

Are you wearing red today?

Profiles of valor: U.S. Army Maj. Ortega

Major Orlando Ortega of the United States Army was serving in Iraq as the commander of G Battery 202 Air Defense Artillery and led his unit on more than 650 missions without losing a single soldier -- no small feat. On 15 September 2004, Ortega encountered an ambush that threatened the lives of his men. What started out as a routine reconnaissance mission turned violent, as two roadside bombs exploded and heavily armed insurgents targeted Ortega's convoy. When the first bomb went off, Ortega's vehicle, in the lead, stopped. He later recounted, "My driver was slumped over the steering wheel and the passengers in the rear were stunned. We received small arms fire from the second and third floor of a building on our right." Fortunately, none of the soldiers were seriously injured by the bomb. First, Ortega moved the convoy forward out of the kill zone, but the insurgents then concentrated their attack on the last vehicle. Ortega decided to counterattack. The convoy maneuvered for two counterattacks, successfully defeating the enemy with no friendly casualties or major equipment damage. "Within 48 hours my soldiers were back on new missions. Incidents like this one occur every day in Iraq but go untold," said Ortega. For his heroism and dedication to his fellow soldiers, Maj. Ortega was awarded the Bronze Star with combat "V" for valor.

[gamekeeper]

Reading about these brave guys makes life here sound very boring but it takes service men & women like that to keep our lives boring, in so much we do not have to contend with these terrorists on the same scale at home. Thank you to all that serve.

[papasan]

First of all i Salute you Major
Ortega,you are a Great American.

Isn`t it amazing. we have a new
leader in Washington, along with
550 others who are supposedly "serving" their country...and they
can`t get their act together! They
seem to put personal gains in mind
to advance their political careers
instead. And the state of the country
reflects it!

Then we have Major Ortega and his
men. All volunteered to serve their
country in time of need, and put their lives on the line when ordered
too. How could you not be proud of
them, and support them 100 percent?

Why do we not hear more of this from
the media? No they spend all of their
time covering "you know who" reading
from his Telepromter a bunch of nonsense. I apoligize for the political portion of my post.

papasan

[C. Cash]

BTT

[Jaguarundi]

Salute the call to Duty,Honor and Country by this Patriot!