Post by Trotxâ on Jul 18, 2006 18:17:19 GMT -6
Here's one way to get arms - a battlefield knighting! Yes, they still do it that way.
Hmmm... I wonder who Col. Stanford is.
Honored for Valor
Sgt. Fraley is knighted by British military for actions
By FRANK LEWIS, PDT Staff Writer
Sunday, July 16, 2006 9:05 PM EDT
A Portsmouth, Ohio soldier took initiative to trust his instincts and as a result has been knighted by the British military.
Sgt. Craig Fraley was on a mission in Baghdad when his unit received an intelligence report that insurgents had a weapons cache in a house, so his squad, and a squad from the British military entered the house.
“We cleared the house and didn't find anything and we were getting ready to leave when I noticed a part of the wall that looked like it had been recently renovated. So I kicked in the wall, and that's when we found 25 AK-47s (assault rifles), several sniper rifles and 30,000 or 40,000 rounds of ammunition,” said Fraley.
Col. Stanford of the British military then conducted a knighting ceremony and knighted Fraley and nine other members of his unit in Iraq.
“I never went to England and I never met the queen, but I am proud to have received the honor,” he said.
Fraley, a member of Echo Company, 1-8 Cavalry, 1st Cavalry Division, served his first term in Iraq from Jan. 5, 2004, to March 8, 2005, but doesn't expect to leave the military anytime soon.
“My enlistment is up on Aug. 30, 2008, but I'm going to re-enlist and go back to Iraq,” he said. Fraley was scheduled to be re-deployed to Iraq when his leave ended on July 15.
Fraley, whose regular job in the Army is supply sergeant, also said that he supports the Bush administration and the Iraq conflict.
“We are helping a lot of people there, and while a small percentage don't want us there, the majority want us there because we are helping to build a democracy,” he said.
FRANK LEWIS can be reached at (740) 353-3101, ext. 232.
Hmmm... I wonder who Col. Stanford is.
Sgt. Craig Fraley, of Portsmouth, holds the sword and shield he received after being knighted by the British military for initiative action in a mission during a tour of duty in Iraq.
Honored for Valor
Sgt. Fraley is knighted by British military for actions
By FRANK LEWIS, PDT Staff Writer
Sunday, July 16, 2006 9:05 PM EDT
A Portsmouth, Ohio soldier took initiative to trust his instincts and as a result has been knighted by the British military.
Sgt. Craig Fraley was on a mission in Baghdad when his unit received an intelligence report that insurgents had a weapons cache in a house, so his squad, and a squad from the British military entered the house.
“We cleared the house and didn't find anything and we were getting ready to leave when I noticed a part of the wall that looked like it had been recently renovated. So I kicked in the wall, and that's when we found 25 AK-47s (assault rifles), several sniper rifles and 30,000 or 40,000 rounds of ammunition,” said Fraley.
Col. Stanford of the British military then conducted a knighting ceremony and knighted Fraley and nine other members of his unit in Iraq.
“I never went to England and I never met the queen, but I am proud to have received the honor,” he said.
Fraley, a member of Echo Company, 1-8 Cavalry, 1st Cavalry Division, served his first term in Iraq from Jan. 5, 2004, to March 8, 2005, but doesn't expect to leave the military anytime soon.
“My enlistment is up on Aug. 30, 2008, but I'm going to re-enlist and go back to Iraq,” he said. Fraley was scheduled to be re-deployed to Iraq when his leave ended on July 15.
Fraley, whose regular job in the Army is supply sergeant, also said that he supports the Bush administration and the Iraq conflict.
“We are helping a lot of people there, and while a small percentage don't want us there, the majority want us there because we are helping to build a democracy,” he said.
FRANK LEWIS can be reached at (740) 353-3101, ext. 232.