Louisiana Guardsman honored five years after event

Photo By Angela Fry | The 2nd Battalion, 156th Infantry Regiment Commander Lt. Col. Eric "Clay" Rivers of Broussard, La., awards Sgt. 1st Class Timothy Champagne of Branch, La., with an Army Commendation Medal with V device, five years after the fact, for his actions on March 10, 2005, in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom III, as Battalion Command Sgt. Maj. Sud Robertson of Abbeville, La., witnesses. The 2-156th is currently deployed with the Louisiana National Guard's 256th Infantry Brigade Combat Team to set the conditions for the responsible drawdown of U.S. armed forces and equipment in Iraq.  

BAGHDAD, IRAQ

04.30.2010

Story by 1st Lt. Angela Fry 

256th Infantry Brigade Combat Team, Louisiana Army National Guard

CAMP LIBERTY, Iraq – Almost five years later in almost the exact location, Sgt. 1st Class Timothy Champagne of Branch, La., was recognized for his valorous actions in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom III.

The 256th Infantry Brigade Combat Team Soldier received the Army Commendation Award with V device from the command of 2nd Battalion, 156th Infantry Regiment, at a ceremony at his battalion's headquarters on Camp Liberty, April 30.

Champagne, who deployed with Louisiana's Tiger Brigade as a squad leader for a scout platoon in the unit's 2004 deployment, received the award for his direct actions in support of his unit.

"We were sitting at an observation point," Champagne explained as he remembered the events of March 10, 2005. "We had four guys sleeping down at the bottom of a building that we were on top of. We were attacked in force by about 15 or 20 guys, pinning my guys down at the bottom."

The soft-spoken father of two continued by describing how he and two of his other Soldiers provided fire support to assist his buddies at the bottom of the building.

"We laid down suppressive fire for about 30 or 40 minutes until we got the enemy to bound back and break contact with us," expressed Champagne. "We received wheel support probably about three hours afterwards and were able to break contact ourselves at that point and leave."

Considering those actions as something expected of all Soldiers based on the seven Army Values, Champagne put little thought in not receiving an award for that night's events.

"Two years after the deployment, at a wedding, my platoon sergeant asked where my award was because he didn't see a V on my chest," Champagne stated. "I said that I never got any kind of award. Two years after we redeployed from Iraq, he began the process of finding out what happened to it. Lo and behold, five years later I received it."

The military has specific regulations to govern the awarding of Army service medals and ribbons, explained Battalion Commander Lt. Col. Eric "Clay" Rivers of Broussard, La.

"Once you leave theater, you have two years by the regulation to get an award corrected or an award submitted, or mainly one that was never submitted," Rivers said. "So the process, we initially thought since we were back in Louisiana, was that we should push it forward the same way."

"It's an ARCOM … but it's an ARCOM with a V device for valor," the former battalion administrative officer added. "The approval authority for an ARCOM is the brigade commander. However, once we got it up to the brigade commander they started digging into the regulations and not only did we have to go back through the brigade commander, but it had to go to state, then up to the National Guard Bureau and ultimately to the Department of Defense to get submitted."

Rivers explained that despite the years of time the unit spent to correct a simple oversight, Soldier and family recognition take priority in his command.

"This is something that should've been awarded the first time," Rivers stressed. "It's a long time coming and I think the biggest key is if you identify the problem, with persistence you can get it fixed. It means a lot to the Soldier and to his family down the line."

While Champagne and Rivers deployed this go-around with the same unit, they both acknowledged the role of the 256th is much different, as Iraq gains stability and is better prepared to handle its own security.

"It is completely night and day. Last time we were running full-spectrum operations … kicking in doors, looking for terrorists. Things have stabilized in this country completely. I've only been outside the wire once since I've been back here," Champagne added explaining his new position as the battalion electronic warfare officer in the Headquarters and Headquarters Company.

With the current role of the 256th primarily providing base defense and convoy escort teams to set the conditions for the responsible drawdown of U.S. troops and equipment in Iraq, Rivers expressed there is still no better Soldier to have on his team than Sgt. 1st Class Champagne.

Sergeant First Class Champagne is an outstanding non-commissioned officer," Rivers said. "They don't come any better than him. He is one of those guys I can go to and say we need to get this done … and hey, it's done. I could not ask for a better NCO. I love working with him."

"For whatever reason, this award slipped through the cracks," Rivers continued. "Then you wind up back here in Iraq, actually in the exact same place, Camp Liberty, almost in the same battalion headquarters. It's kind of eerie in a certain way."

• Date Taken: 04.30.2010
• Date Posted: 05.17.2010 11:08
• Story ID: 49812
• Location: BAGHDAD, IQ