They were all with the 3d Stryker Brigade Combat Team. That's the Army's first ever Stryker Brigade. He went with them on their first deployment to Mosul in Northern Iraq. That one BDE relieved the entire 101st Airborne Division. Not only that, but Strykers had never been used in combat, so they had to figure that all out on the fly as well.
I got to the company right as they came back from Iraq. I can tell you for certain, Bales stood out immediately as a go-to guy. He was an E-4 (Specialist) at the time but quickly got promoted to Sergeant and took over my 1st Squad, Alpha Team. He is VERY smart, very intense, and was just everything you could want in a Team Leader. He knew when to be relaxed, and he knew when to be hard. He could joke around with guys during down-time, then be 100% business on a mission.
He saved my Stryker during one particular engagement. We had been in Mosul for months (this was his second deployment, my first). When you're in an area for that long, you can easily let your guard down when you NEVER take contact. Bales, however, was always on his game. We were checking out an area in a fairly tight alleyway, and he pulled security directly to the rear of the vehicle from his hatch. I was talking to my commander over the radio when I heard Bales yell "RPG!" and then immediately open fire. By the time I had even dropped into my hatch, he had shot the RPG shooter, causing the RPG to fly high and miss my vehicle. They caught the guy later that day getting treated for a GSW in an Iraqi hospital.
That second deployment was hell. It was Jul 2006-Sept 2007, 15 months, during the height of the insanity in that country. We got bounced around all over the country after we left Mosul. Constant stress, always waiting to be blown up or ambushed--AQI, Iraqi Army, Iraqi Police, who knew? In our last three months, we were in a neighborhood called Dora. Just in the first week we had six Strykers destroyed and over 40 people wounded. Bales was rock-solid the entire time.
Bales was frequently the lead guy in the door whenever we conducted a raid (we did about 50 of them). He never complained, he wanted to be there for his guys. A tremendous NCO.
I honestly don't care what comes out of this, b/c I know who he is. I just hope that you all will keep this in mind when you see the inevitable character assassination on TV news.
Thank you for this post. You are all in our prayers.
Thank you for your service.
Thank you for your service and Sgt Robert Bales. I pray for ALL our service people and their families. I am surprised there hasn’t been more service people snap under the conditions they are forced into.
Thank you for your information and perspective. I will keep Sgt. Bales and his family in my prayers.
Thanks for the info.
Thank you for sharing what you know about Bales. I showed this to my husband (retired Army), and he just kept saying “Yep. Yep.” What you’ve said is exactly what we already thought. The anonymous soldier has been in my prayers. Now that his name is out there, I think Bales will be in my prayers for a long time.
Thank you for your service and for taking the time to share this with us. I’ll keep him and his family in my prayers.
Thanks for the info, Future Snake Eater. I will remember it when the treasonous enemy-loving media starts spewing their CRAP.
Thank you for your service. Thank you for sharing with us your time with Sgt Bales.
Sgt Bales and his family are in my prayers. May God protect them. May God give them peace of mind and courage to face each new day. May no weapon, physical or verbal, against him prosper.
Dearest Father God, reveal the truth about your soldier. Bless him.
My FRiend, i truly sorrow for you and your compatriots currently serving/having served during this conflict. I served in the USMC during the first Gulf War, and I can tell you TO A MAN we were angry that the “Coalition” didn’t get to go in and finish the job right then and there, thus sparing the current generation of the hardship they are still suffering.