Photo By Dena O'Dell | Mohannad Ali of San Diego, right, poses for a picture with Brig. Gen. John Lloyd, U.S....... read more read more
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WASHINGTON, D.C. – For two decades, Iraqi-born Mohannad Ali stood shoulder to shoulder with U.S. military forces in Iraq, Syria, Qatar, and Saudi Arabia as a contractor linguist, security specialist, and, at times, the last line of defense.
On Aug. 26, he was awarded the Secretary of Defense Medal for the Defense of Freedom during a ceremony in San Diego for injuries sustained in 2010 while on assignment in Iraq for the USACE Gulf Region District (GRD) as a contractor with Aegis.
The medal, the civilian equivalent of the Purple Heart, honors Department of Defense civilian employees who are killed or wounded by hostile action while serving in support of the DOD. It serves as a reminder of the contributions made by civilians who risked their lives in support of these efforts.
Ali’s story began in Baghdad, where he recalls the kindness and professionalism of the U.S. military during the 2003 Iraq invasion, known as Operation Iraqi Freedom, leaving a lasting impression on him.
“The treatment we received from the U.S. military was phenomenal,” Ali said. “I remember meeting a linguist at the time whose job was to assist, and he was so good at it. I remember thinking, I want to be just like him. I want to help people.”
Inspired by this encounter, Ali set his sights on becoming a linguist, securing his first contracting job with the U.S. military at the age of 18.
From the start, moments in Ali’s career were marked by danger.
He was in a Chinook helicopter en route to Fallujah on his first assignment with five other linguists when rocket-propelled grenades struck the aircraft. While they safely landed, Ali described it as his “wake-up call.”
“You quickly realize how fragile life is in this line of work,” he said.
Ali demonstrated his dedication to the mission and the U.S. military early in his career. When he suspected a fellow linguist of being an insider threat, he took matters into his own hands, exposing the individual and possibly preventing U.S. casualties.
Then, in 2010, tragedy struck when an explosively formed penetrator tore through the vehicle he was riding in.
Ali vividly remembers the attack: "It was pitch dark. I couldn’t hear anything, and then I heard prayers very loud and clear. I looked down and saw a hole in our vehicle. I knew that was it, we’d been hit.”
With the vehicle now far from the road, his team leader, Robbie, unconscious and his driver, Haider, severely wounded with shrapnel in his face, Ali’s instincts kicked in.
“I remembered knowing I needed to pull security like I had been trained, administer medical aid to Robbie and Haider like I was trained, but also thinking this is how I was going to die,” he said.
Ali managed to call for help through the chaos, and a helicopter arrived to extract them. Only after administering care to his team and calling for help did he realize he was bleeding from a severe thigh wound.
In agony from his own injuries, he listened to flight medics unsuccessfully attempt to revive his team leader in the helicopter on the way to the hospital. “I will never forget that ride,” Ali said.
After undergoing multiple surgeries, Ali learned that word of the attack had spread quickly back home, and in the confusion, his family was told he had been killed. “I remember begging my dad not to tell my mom and reassuring him I was alive,” he said. The fear was compounded by painful memories from years earlier when one of Ali’s brothers was killed after neighbors discovered Ali was working with the Americans. At the time, Ali was traveling to the “14th of July Bridge” in the Green Zone to help recruit locals to work for U.S. defense contractors when someone in the neighborhood recognized him.
Ali’s younger brother, who later became a linguist himself and served alongside coalition forces and the Air Force in Iraq and Qatar, is still alive.
Ali and Haider shared a hospital room in recovery for two weeks. On the day Ali was scheduled to return to Baghdad, the team sent to pick him up was attacked, wounding some of the personnel involved.
Despite the constant danger before, during and after the incident, Ali remained committed to the mission. Just six months later, he rejoined U.S. forces and continued his 20-year career with the same focus and dedication.
“For 20 years, I dedicated my life to the teams I worked with,” Ali said. “I was surrounded by heroes, real heroes, and all I wanted was to make sure they got home safe.” He considered his fellow Soldiers and contractors family, saying, “I would’ve taken a bullet for any of them, any day, without thinking twice.”
The GRD, formed as part of USACE operations during Operation Iraqi Freedom, provided full-spectrum construction management to the United States Forces-Iraq command, the U.S. Embassy-Baghdad Mission, and the Government of Iraq until its inactivation at the end of 2011.
In the intervening years, the GRD’s Soldiers and civilians, undaunted by the dangers posed by the insurgency, delivered more than 5,100 projects valued at nearly $9 billion. They helped Iraq add 7,000 megawatts of electricity to its grid, supported and expanded oil production capacity to 3 million barrels per day, and managed 1,200 school projects that served hundreds of thousands of children. Five million people benefitted directly from the GRD’s water and sewer projects and millions more received treatment in medical facilities USACE helped build. The division also oversaw construction of hundreds of infrastructure projects such as roads, railroads, aviation facilities and ports, and it supervised the building of hundreds of vital national security and community safety structures such as border posts, entry facilities, courthouses and fire stations.
Now living in San Diego with his family, Ali works as the director of operations, Middle East for a national space company, but his bond with those with whom he served remains strong. In 2014, Haider visited Ali in San Diego, bringing his own Defense of Freedom Medal. Ali said ever since seeing Haider’s medal, he’s thought about what this award truly means and represents, which is the sacrifice and valor in service to the nation.
For Ali, the Defense of Freedom Medal is deeply personal. It reflects events of that day, but also the mission that guided his life, and the heroes he worked alongside.
"Thank you so much for this amazing award, it honestly means a lot to me," Ali said. "To my beautiful family, I want to thank you guys for all the support during the last 20 years."
| Date Taken: | 08.27.2025 |
| Date Posted: | 08.27.2025 15:37 |
| Story ID: | 546677 |
| Location: | DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA, US |
| Web Views: | 72 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
This work, USACE Contractor Mohannad Ali: A Story of Courage, Service and Sacrifice, by Kathryne Gest, identified by DVIDS, must comply with the restrictions shown on https://www.dvidshub.net/about/copyright.
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