CAMP PENDLETON, Calif. - A staff sergeant from Chicago, received the military’s fourth highest award for combat actions between September and October, 2010.
Col. Steven J. Grass, the commanding officer of Marine Special Operations Regiment, presented Staff Sgt. Maurice Scott with 1st Marine Special Operations Battalion, the Bronze Star with a “V” device, for valor, at Camp Pendleton, Calif., March 12.
Scott, 33, successfully employed supporting aircraft to break supply lines and hinder enemy activity during a night helicopter raid as a joint terminal aircraft controller, according to the award’s citation.
Scott’s element’s security position came under heavy fire from enemy forces while deployed to the Helmand province, Afghanistan. He spotted and eliminated an insurgent cave position by employing a missile strike while observing from an exposed position. He engaged the enemy with his weapon and called in multiple airstrikes. His actions caused the enemy to break off their attack.
“You can’t attribute the success of the mission to one individual,” Scott said. “Everyone is actively involved in the process. It represents the achievements of our team.”
Scott, a former Army Ranger, has served three deployments to Iraq and two to Afghanistan.
The Bronze Star is awarded for either meritorious service or combat heroism. The bronze “V” is a combat distinguishing device for acts of combat heroism or valor.
“There was excellent leadership at the team level,” Scott said. “That’s what allowed us to perform with accuracy.”
The Bronze Star recipient, whose father was an Army lieutenant colonel, had a military upbringing and realized his own military career when he was 18.
Scott currently serves at Marine Special Operations Battalion, Headquarters Company, learning Pashto and said he hopes to continue working with government, such as state or federal law enforcement, after his military career.