FORT STEWART, Ga. - On a clear day in February, Soldiers sat around a long table at Fort Stewart's headquarters building. Their ranks, years of experience and specific duties varied greatly, but they all had two things in common: a valorous medal and a story to tell.
For two hours, they took turns sharing intimate, emotional and sometimes tragic tales of facing enemy forces in Iraq and Afghanistan. Beginning almost a decade ago with the initial invasion, their stories ranged in chronology from the very beginning of the effort to just a few months ago.
Some stories involved hundreds of troops and others a close-knit group of four or five Soldiers. As each spoke, a notable feeling of respect remained palpable in the room--no one interrupted, corrected, disputed or critiqued another. Instead, the Soldiers encouraged and agreed with each other, although many of them had never met prior to the roundtable.
Following is Command Sgt. Maj. Jeff Moser's story, the first series of four:
CSM Jeff Moser
On April 7, 2003, during the initial invasion into Iraq, Command Sgt. Maj. Jeff Moser was driving on a highway moving toward Baghdad when his convoy came under direct fire from enemy forces using heavy armored tanks and small arms.
"I was behind my company commander - at the time I was a First Sergeant. I was in an M113; he was in a Bradley. He was taking direct fire, small army fire to his left flank. He was engaging tanks to his left flank with his wingman," Command Sgt. Maj. Moser explains.
Command Sgt. Maj. Moser then tried to radio the vehicle in front of him to inform them of the shots he saw coming from nearby guildings and suggest that those exposed get inside the Bradley.
"He was too engaged," Command Sgt. Maj. Moser says of his commander. "So what I did was take my 113 and knock the wall down [of the building housing the enemies] and moved inside of direct fire and started engaging with individuals that were shooting with small arms fire."
Command Sergeant Major Moser's lack of hesitation to face a direct line for fire to help his fellow Soldiers earned him a Bronze Star with Valor.
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