Photo By Sgt. Maj. Nathan Hoskins | Washington Court House, Ohio, native Col. Rhonda Howard, left, the commander of the...... read more read more
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by Spc. Nathan Hoskins
1st Air Cavalry Brigade, 1st Cavalry Division Public Affairs
CAMP TAJI, Iraq – He was discussing how the Purple Heart and the Combat Action Badge were the worst awards to ever receive when, in the blink of an eye, he earned them himself.
Warrant Officer Thomas Fogger, a Niceville, Fla., native, a special agent for the 86th Military Police Detachment (Criminal Investigation Command), 22nd MP Battalion (CID), was recently awarded the Purple Heart and the Combat Action Badge in a ceremony Aug 20.
"Ironically, about 15 minutes before this incident happened, we were just talking about ... the two awards you didn't want to earn in theater and these were the two of them," Fogger said to those in attendance at the ceremony.
Fogger was returning to the scene of an investigation with his security detachment from Company D, 2nd Battalion, 12th Infantry Regiment, 2nd Brigade Combat Team, 2nd Infantry Division, to finish up some last-minute details when two anti-tank grenades were thrown at his vehicle, he said.
The blast, which was recorded on the front passenger's digital camera, rocked the up-armored Humvee and slammed Fogger's head against his door, said the special agent.
"I was out for about three to five seconds and when I woke up, I was asking if that was us who got hit," said Fogger.
Indeed it was his vehicle that got hit. One grenade landed to the front of his vehicle while the other landed to the rear.
After the initial concussion, the gunners from the vehicles spotted the insurgent on the rooftop of a nearby building and started firing at him, said Fogger.
The quick reaction of those in the attack was not an accident or a coincidence, said Washington Court House, Ohio, native Col. Rhonda Howard, the commander of the 22nd MP Battalion (CID).
"That's what the training's all about, to have it more muscle memory so that you do it out of habit," she said. Howard, who was visiting Camp Taji to present Fogger his awards, was extremely satisfied with how all Soldiers involved in the incident reacted.
"The unit that (the special agents) were going with provided outstanding protection," she said.
Still, what was unusual about the events that followed was the fact that while Fogger had to stay behind with the convoy of vehicles due to his injury, Sgt. Durwin Worley of McCreary County, Ky., another special agent in a Humvee ahead of him, got out and participated in the search for the insurgent, said Howard.
Special agents will normally work in two-man teams and blend in with the unit that is providing security for their particular job. That way they don't stand out any more than the Soldier next to them, Fogger said
Worley, who normally is dependent on the ground unit to provide security for him, was now going building-to-building initiating clearing procedures, said Howard.
"It's always Soldier first. It really doesn't matter what your (military occupational specialty) is, you're always a Soldier first," she said. "Even as a CID Soldier, (Worley) has to be able to shoot, move and communicate."
After searching two buildings, Worley and 2-12th found 36 Molotov cocktails, a makeshift grenade using flammable liquid in a glass bottle with a cloth as fuse, and two bags of explosive powder, said Fogger. Once the search was complete and no insurgent found, the Soldiers quickly regrouped and headed back to their original destination to finish the investigation, Fogger said.
The special agents and infantry Soldiers completed the mission regardless of the prior attack, which in turn kept other Soldiers from putting their lives on the line to complete the unfinished investigation another day, he said.
Howard was proud to be pinning the Purple Heart and the CAB on the living, recuperated Fogger, she said.
"It's a privilege for me to be here with (Fogger) and the mighty Taji CID office. It's not every day that you can present a Purple Heart and a Combat Action Badge – so it's great to do that," said Howard.
The ever careful Fogger, a husband and father of six children, has a slightly different outlook on life here in Iraq after that experience, he said.
"It really changes one's perspective of life and how easily one could lose it. It's important not to forget that," he said.
Fogger is back at work now and carrying on despite the near miss, but he'll always have the video and his memories to remind him of the day he nearly laid down his life for his country. Luckily, he came out of the attack with two awards he never wanted to earn and, more importantly, his life as well.
"Out here, y'all are my family and I was glad I was able to come back and see you," he said to his Soldiers shortly after donning the Purple Heart and CAB.
Fogger is the only current active duty CID agent with a Purple Heart, according to the United States Army Criminal Investigation Command.
| Date Taken: | 08.29.2007 |
| Date Posted: | 08.29.2007 07:14 |
| Story ID: | 12048 |
| Location: | TAJI, IQ |
| Web Views: | 1,066 |
| Downloads: | 372 |
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