Battle hardened company receives Combat Action Streamer

Photo By Staff Sgt. Gene Arnold | Maj. Gen. William Mayville, the commanding general of Combined Joint Task Force -1 and the 1st Infantry Division, tells the troops of Company A, 4th Brigade Special Troops Battalion, 4th Infantry Brigade Combat Team, 1st Infantry Division, how proud he is to serve in the same organization as them after he awarded their unit with the Combat Action Streamer, Jan. 16, 2013, at Forward Operating Base Sharana, Afghanistan. (U.S. Army photo by Sgt. Gene Arnold, Task Force 4-1 PAO)  

PAKTIKA PROVINCE, AFGHANISTAN

01.17.2013

Story by Sgt. Gene Arnold 

4th Brigade Combat Team, 1st Infantry Division

PAKTIKA PROVINCE, Afghanistan – “Attention to orders: The Combat Action Streamer is presented to Alpha Company for having more than 75 percent of their soldiers receive the combat action award during Operation Enduring Freedom 12-13,” read the adjutant.

The soldiers and leadership of Company A, 4th Brigade Special Troops Battalion, 4th Infantry Brigade Combat Team, 1st Infantry Division, received the Combat Action Streamer, presented by Maj. Gen. William Mayville, the commanding general of Combined Joint Task Force-1, during a small ceremony, Jan. 16, in eastern Afghanistan’s Paktika Province.

“You are at the very end of a remarkable tour, and you’ve made a real difference out here. We are winning this war,” said Mayville. “We’re winning this war by setting the conditions for the Afghan forces to take over. That’s where they are.”

“I want to thank you. I can’t tell you what it means for me to wear the same patch that you’re wearing. I’m proud of what you’ve done, I’m proud of what you’re doing, and I’m proud of what you’re representing,” he added.

Only two and three-quarter inches by four feet long, this piece of cloth etched with letters signifying conflict or actions taken by a unit adorns the guidon of a battle hardened organization. The Combat Action Streamer is awarded to a unit in which 65 percent or more of the soldiers assigned have received a combat action badges during military operations.

Company A, also known as “Awesome Company,” was charged with the mission of route clearance and partnership training with their Afghan counterparts in both Paktika and Ghazni provinces. This engineer company has taken its fair share of hits, while also working themselves out of a job. Their Afghan route clearance company partners have found record numbers of improvised explosive devices since their partnership began, significantly saving not only the soldiers around them, but also the civilians who use the road ways.

The successful partnership between “Awesome Company” and their Afghan counterparts has helped set the benchmark for a brighter and more prosperous Afghanistan.

• Date Taken: 01.17.2013
• Date Posted: 01.18.2013 00:57
• Story ID: 100708
• Location: PAKTIKA PROVINCE, AF