A platoon is a military unit typically composed of two to four squads, sections, or patrols. Platoon organization varies depending on the country and the branch, but a platoon can be composed of 20–50 troops, although specific platoons may range from 10 to 100 people. A platoon is typically the smallest military unit led by a commissioned officer. The platoon leader is usually a junior officer—a second or first lieutenant or an equivalent rank. The officer is usually assisted by a platoon sergeant.
Leigh Ann Hester is a United States Army National Guard soldier. While assigned to the 617th Military Police Company, a Kentucky Army National Guard unit out of Richmond, Kentucky, Hester received the Silver Star for her heroic actions on 20 March 2005 during an enemy ambush on a supply convoy near the town of Salman Pak, Iraq.
Sangin is a town in Helmand province of Afghanistan, with a population of approximately 20,000 people. It is located on 32°4′24″N64°50′2″E in the valley of the Helmand River at 888 m (2,913 ft) altitude, 95 km (59 mi) to the north-east of Lashkargah. Sangin is notorious as one of the central locations of the opium trade in the south of the country, and is also a town that has traditionally supported the Taliban. It was described by British newspaper The Guardian as "the deadliest area in Afghanistan" in 2010. Sangin also houses the main bazaar for Sangin District. Route 611 passes through Sangin.
The number of Canadian Forces' fatalities resulting from Canadian military activities in Afghanistan is the largest for any single Canadian military mission since the Korean War between 1950 and 1953. A total of 159 Canadian Forces personnel and 7 civilians have died in the conflict.
The United Kingdom was one of the first countries to take part in Operation Enduring Freedom against the Taliban regime in autumn 2001.
Puerto Ricans have served as members of the United States Armed Forces and have fought in every major conflict in which the United States has been involved from World War I onward. Many Puerto Ricans, including those of Puerto Rican descent, have distinguished themselves during combat as members of the five branches of the U.S. Military, the Army, Marines, Navy, Air Force and the Coast Guard.
The Decorations of Honour of the Bundeswehr are a series of military decorations of the Bundeswehr, the armed forces of the Federal Republic of Germany. These honours and awards were introduced in 1980 on the occasion of the 25th anniversary of the Bundeswehr by then Minister of Defence Hans Apel and subsequently approved by President of the Federal Republic Karl Carstens.
The Battle of Wadi al-Batin, also known as the Battle of Ruqi Pocket, took place before the beginning of the Desert Storm operations on 16 February 1991. This is not to be confused with the "Battle of Wadi al-Batin" which was fought later in the four-day ground war between elements of the 1st Cavalry Division and the Iraqi Republican Guard.
Al-Karmah, also sometimes transliterated as Karma, Karmah, or Garma, is a city in central Iraq, 16 km (10 mi) northeast of Fallujah in the province of Al Anbar.
Justin D. LeHew is a United States Marine who served in the War on Terror. He was awarded the Navy Cross for his actions on 23 and 24 March 2003 during the initial 2003 invasion of Iraq. He was hand picked to spearhead the rescue operation and recovery of the U.S. Army's 507th Maintenance Company on 23 March and subsequently was called upon again to take part in the rescue operation of US Army Private Jessica Lynch on 1 April 2003. He is also a recipient of the Bronze Star with Combat Distinguishing Device denoting Valor for his heroic actions from 5 to 28 August 2004 during the Battle of Najaf.
The 30th Armored Brigade Combat Team is a modular heavy brigade of the United States Army National Guard. 30th ABCT relieved 3rd ABCT/4ID in Kuwait, 1 November 2019. They returned to the U.S. in September 2020 and were replaced by the 2nd ABCT/1AD.
The Battle of Wanat took place on July 13, 2008, when around 200 Taliban insurgents attacked American troops stationed near Quam, in the Waygal district of Afghanistan's far eastern Nuristan province. The distant position was primarily defended by United States Army soldiers with 2nd Platoon, Chosen Company, 2nd Battalion, 503rd Infantry Regiment (Airborne), 173rd Airborne Brigade Combat Team.
The Battle of Lanzerath Ridge was fought on December 16, 1944, the first day of the Battle of the Bulge during World War II, near the village of Lanzerath, Belgium, along the key route for the German advance on the northern shoulder of the operation. The American force consisted of two squads totalling 18 men belonging to a reconnaissance platoon and four forward artillery observers, against a German battalion of about 500 paratroopers. During a day-long confrontation, the American defenders inflicted dozens of casualties on the Germans and delayed by almost 20 hours the advance of the entire 1st SS Panzer Division, the spearhead of the German 6th Panzer Army.
The 2004 Good Friday ambush was an attack by Iraqi insurgents on April 9, 2004 during the Iraq War on a convoy of United States supply trucks during the Battle of Baghdad International Airport. It happened in the midst of the Iraq spring fighting of 2004, which saw intensified clashes throughout the country.
The Battle of Kamdesh took place during the war in Afghanistan. It occurred on October 3, 2009, when a force of 300 Taliban assaulted the American Combat Outpost ("COP") Keating near the town of Kamdesh in Nuristan Province in eastern Afghanistan. The attack was the bloodiest battle for US forces since the Battle of Wanat in July 2008, which occurred 20 miles (32 km) away from Kamdesh. The attack on COP Keating resulted in 8 Americans killed and 27 wounded while the Taliban suffered 150–200 killed.
The Battle of Shok Valley, also known as Operation Commando Wrath, was a joint U.S.-Afghan raid designed to kill or capture Gulbuddin Hekmatyar, the leader of Hezb-e-Islami Gulbuddin (HIG) in the Shok Valley of Nuristan Province of Afghanistan on 6 April 2008. Ten soldiers belonging to U.S Army special forces and their combat cameraman were awarded the Silver Star for bravery, the greatest number of such awards for a single battle since the Vietnam War. In 2018, Special Forces medic Ronald J. Shurer's Silver Star was upgraded to the Medal of Honor for his actions during the battle. In 2019, Special Forces weapons sergeant Matthew O. Williams's Silver Star was upgraded to the Medal of Honor for his actions during the battle. In addition SrA Zachary Rhyner, ODA 3336's attached Air Force Combat Controller, was awarded the Air Force Cross.
Mark L. Donald is a retired United States Navy SEAL, hospital corpsman, and physician assistant who served in the United States Navy. Donald is one of the few American warriors to have earned three high-level combat valor medals for displaying the highest levels of battlefield heroism on more than one occasion. Donald, a recipient of the Navy Cross and Silver Star awards in support of Operation Enduring Freedom during the fall of 2003 and the Bronze Star with V device denoting combat heroism for Operation Iraqi Freedom during the spring of 2003, is one of the most decorated heroes of the War on Terror.
Ronald Joseph Shurer II was a United States Army Special Forces staff sergeant and medic. As a senior medical sergeant during the Battle of Shok Valley in April 2008, he and his team were attacked by an enemy force of more than 200 fighters. Shurer fought for more than an hour to reach part of his unit, killing several insurgents along the way. He was initially awarded a Silver Star for this action, but in 2016 The Pentagon upgraded this recognition to a Medal of Honor. He received the latter honor in a White House ceremony on October 1, 2018.
The 8th Engineer Battalion is a brigade engineer battalion (BEB) of the United States Army, which traces its history back to 1916. The battalion is based at Fort Cavazos, Texas, as part of the 2nd Brigade Combat Team of the 1st Cavalry Division.
Earl D. Plumlee is a retired master sergeant in the United States Army. He was awarded the Medal of Honor for his actions in Afghanistan that took place on 28 August 2013 and presented to him by President Joe Biden on December 16, 2021; awarded the same day, posthumously, were Alwyn Cashe and Christopher Celiz.
United States
United States Army 
Sergeant [2] 
