FORT SILL, OKLA. -- On Sept, 17, 2009 Sgt. 1st Class Jared Monti became the sixth Soldier to receive the Medal of Honor in the War on Terror, and on Aug. 19, 2011 the Fires Center of Excellence's Mission Simulation Center was dedicated and renamed after his redleg legacy.
Monti, a fire support specialist, underwent training at Fort Sill early in his Army career. In June 2006, Monti who was assigned to the 3rd Squadron, 71st Calvary Regiment (Recon), 3rd Brigade Combat Team, 10th Mountain Division, prepared to execute Operation Gowardesh Thrust, a squadron-size operation in the Green Valley, Nuristan Province, Afghanistan.
However, he found himself in a firefight where he and his team were outnumbered four to one. The official Army narrative describes an ugly situation. As the enemy fired upon him and his squad, trees were being split by bullets and branches were catching shrapnel like catchers mitts. Despite the chaos around him, Monti assessed the situation, informed headquarters and initiated calls for indirect fire and close air support. Monti was hit by an RPG after making a third attempt to rescue one of his Soldiers that had been wounded; however, his "eyes forward" and courage made a difference that day and the enemy was defeated.
"We could have lost our entire team that day," said Command Sgt. Maj. Delbert Byers (Monti's command sergeant major during that deployment) during the dedication ceremony. Byers stated Monti continues to saves lives today through the example he set in fire support planning and other lessons learned from that deployment to Afghanistan.
His parents, Paul and Janet Monti, Maj. Gen. David D. Halverson, commanding general of the Fires Center of Excellence and Fort Sill, Okla.; Command Sgt. Maj. Dwight L. Morrisey, the FCoE and Fort Sill command sergeant major; Congressman Dan Boren, representing the 2nd district of Oklahoma; Bill Burgess, the civilian aide to the Secretary of the Army; and several of Monti's former chain of command were in attendance.
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