FORT HOOD, Texas - Capt. Brent Harrington was presented a Joint Commander's Commendation from the British Army at the 1st Cavalry Division Museum Oct. 28 at Fort Hood, Texas.
The commendation is a British award for actions Harrington performed during Operation Iraqi Freedom 08-10 that led to the arrest of suspected criminals accused of killing six British Royal Military Police in Iraq in 2003. Harrington, who served as commander of the B Company, 2nd Battalion, 7th Cavalry Regiment, 4th Brigade Combat Team, 1st Cavalry Division, on that tour, currently serves as a senior liaison operations officer for the 120th Infantry Brigade.
After the fall of the Ba'ath Regime in 2003, a detachment of six British Royal Military Police were assigned to train newly recruited Iraqi policemen at the Majar al Kabir police station in southern Iraq. On June 24, 2003, a group of individuals attacked and killed all six of the RMP.
While assigned to the Majar al Kabir area in 2008, Harrington and the 2-7 CAV were able to capture and arrest the first suspect and worked relentlessly to lay the foundation for the arrest of five other suspects who are currently incarcerated in the Iraqi prison system.
After receiving the award, Harrington told the audience that the award was not the efforts of one man, but a willing community.
"It took the British, American, and Iraqi forces all working together toward a common goal," said Harrington, a Houston, TX native, "so it was the combination of all of us that made the mission a success."
Assistant Military AttachAfA to the British Defense Staff in Washington, D.C., British Col. John Rouse, presented the commendation to Harrington and his wife, Leslie on behalf of the British Joint Commander of Operations.
Rouse said although the assignment was a United Kingdom operation, the ability to capture the perpetrators of the assault would not have been possible without the contributions of Harrington and his troops.
"It has been our intent to bring the perpetrators of this heinous crime to justice for some time now," said Rouse, who participated in the initial efforts in Iraq in 2003.
Rouse said the suspects' apprehension of the British and American armies produced three significant points: That the arrests showed the families of the slain policemen their sacrifice was not forgotten; second, the action showed the Iraqi and international community that crime has no place in a civil society.
Finally, Rouse said the effort showed a significant level of team spirit, cooperation and the ability to work together that has always existed between U.S. and British armies.
First Lt. Richard Hedgecock, the executive officer of Charlie Battery, 2/7 CAV, was a platoon leader under Harrington in 2008 and 2009. Hedgecock, who helped capture the suspects, said he regularly worked alongside British Soldiers. Hedgecock believes that experience made the operation more personal.
"We picked up a couple of British guys who helped us establish sources and provided additional investigations," said Hedgecock. "We all lived together, ate at the same place - there wasn't any separation."
"We wanted to make sure we got every guy who was guilty," he said.
Harrington said in an interview after the ceremony that he was humbled by the award, but that the significance of the event was not about the citation.
"(The ceremony) brings closure to the families of the British Soldiers who were murdered all those years ago," Harrington said. "That's the most important thing we need to remember."
Harrington has embraced his new role as trainer for forces headed to Iraq, but was happy that he could share the success with members of his old unit as well.
"It was great to see those guys again," he said. "I was commander of that unit for two years and it was probably the best time I had in the Army."
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