'Mustang' soldiers awarded combat badges

By Capt. Kevin ArberJuly 15, 2013

'Mustang' soldiers awarded combat badges
1 / 2 Show Caption + Hide Caption – U.S. Army Lt. Col. Justin Hadley, the squadron commander for 6th Squadron, 8th Cavalry Regiment, 4th Infantry Brigade Combat Team, 3rd Infantry Division, awards the Combat Action Badge to U.S. Army Pfc. David Staufenberg, July 6, 2013, on Forward Ope... (Photo Credit: U.S. Army) VIEW ORIGINAL
'Mustang' soldiers awarded combat badges
2 / 2 Show Caption + Hide Caption – U.S. Army Lt. Col. Justin Hadley, center, the commander for 6th Squadron, 8th Cavalry Regiment, 4th Infantry Brigade Combat Team, 3rd Infantry Division, speaks to soldiers from Headquarters and Headquarters Troop, 6-8 Cavalry, about the significance ... (Photo Credit: U.S. Army) VIEW ORIGINAL

LOGAR PROVINCE, Afghanistan - Thirty-two 'Mustang' soldiers from Headquarters and Headquarters Troop, 6th Squadron, 8th Cavalry Regiment, 4th Infantry Brigade Combat Team, 3rd Infantry Division, were awarded combat badges, July 6, during an awards ceremony held on Forward Operating Base Shank in eastern Afghanistan.

The 32 troopers with 6-8 Cavalry, also known as Task Force Mustang, are assigned to the squadron's staff sections and tactical operations center, which provide situational awareness and coordinate resources during daily operations in Logar province.

The combat badges awarded were the Combat Infantry Badge, Combat Medical Badge and Combat Action Badge. The CIB is awarded to infantrymen who are engaged in hostile fire by enemy forces; the CMB is awarded to medical personnel performing medical duties while actively being engaged by the enemy; and the CAB is awarded to any soldier who is engaged by the enemy in combat.

Soldiers perform their duties with the utmost professionalism, managing simultaneous operations, sometimes while receiving indirect fire in the immediate vicinity of the TOC.

U.S. Army Pfc. David Staufenberg, 20, an information technology specialist with HHT assigned as a radio telephone operator in the TOC said, "I do what I can to manage information and ensure accurate reporting in order to get the guys on the ground the assets they need to complete the mission."

Staufenberg, a native of Nampa, Idaho, is on his first deployment and is also responsible for operating the squadron's Command Post of the Future workstation which allows commanders and their staff to view live battlefield data in order to maintain situational awareness and make decisions, a position that is traditionally filled by a sergeant.

The soldiers earned their combat badges as a result of multiple events to include enemy indirect fire, which occurred during the first half of the deployment for TF Mustang.

U.S. Army Spc. Jordan Clark, 25, a native of Tupper Lake, N.Y., serving as the current operations analyst, in the TOC, to help prevent the indirect fire threat said, "When an event occurs, we control the primary observation asset to gain positive identification of hostile actions or intent. We have to find the enemy as quickly as possible in order to neutralize the threat."

"There's no time to take cover or run to a bunker while a situation is happening because we have to gain situational awareness immediately," added Staufenberg.

Task Force Mustang is responsible for U.S. operations in Logar province and for defending from enemy rocket attacks on FOB Shank, which is home to many coalition forces and civilian personnel.

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