FReeper Canteen ~ Hall of Heroes: SSG Robby Miller ~ 06 August 2018

Serving The Best Troops and Veterans In The World !! | The Canteen Crew

[Kathy in Alaska]

 

Our Troops Rock!  Thank you for all you do!

For the freedom you enjoyed yesterday... Thank the Veterans who served in The United States Armed Forces.

Looking forward to tomorrow's freedom? Support The United States Armed Forces Today!

---

~ Hall of Heroes ~

SSG Robby Miller

           

Medal of Honor: Colleagues recall heroics of 'happy warrior'

By Henry Cuningham
Military editor

The ambush started with a shout of "Allah akbar!" - Arabic for "God is great."

Then the bullets poured in on Staff Sgt. Robby Miller's Special Forces team and the Afghan soldiers with it.

What Miller did on that remote, rocky Afghan battlefield that day more than two years ago cost him his life.

His actions saved the lives of seven other soldiers and merited the nation's highest military decoration.

'Happy warrior'

Miller's parents describe him as a "happy warrior," but at first glance, he might not have come across as a likely war hero.

He was about 5-foot-8 and "wiry strong," according to Staff Sgt. Nick McGarry.

The two went through Special Forces training together, so McGarry was glad to see him when he arrived for duty with Company A, 3rd Battalion, 3rd Special Forces Group at Fort Bragg. They became close friends.

McGarry said Miller was into anything physical, from surfing to mountain biking.

"He was a young stud," said Maj. Robert Cusick, who was Miller's team leader as a captain in Afghanistan. "He did gymnastics, which we found out about halfway through the trip. He was just a young guy with a lot of energy. Whenever it came to the physical stuff, that was easy for Robby."

Miller was the oldest son and second-oldest of eight children born to Phil and Maureen Miller. He may have gained an appreciation for history and other cultures while playing with children of Cambodian refugees while growing up in Harrisburg, Pa., his parents said.

He attended high school in Wheaton, Ill., and joined the Army shortly after his family moved to Oviedo, Fla.

Miller was just 24 and had been in the military for less than five years when he died.

He joined the Army in 2003, under the 18X enlistment option. That's a path that allows people "off the street" to compete for a spot in Special Forces without first having to spend several years in the Army.

He liked to excel, and he liked challenges and "the harder route," his father said.

There is no guarantee that "X-ray" candidates, as they are known, will make it into the ranks of the Green Berets. The selection process just to get into Special Forces training is grueling. Then the training itself is intense.

The "X-rays" make it through Special Forces training at about the same rate - about 30 percent - as soldiers who already have spent time in the Army. About 1,500 of them are now serving in Special Forces, said Maj. Dave Butler, a spokesman for the John F. Kennedy Special Warfare Center and School at Fort Bragg.

The program, begun during the Iraq and Afghanistan wars, has had skeptics who have questioned the quality of candidates who don't have Army experience.

Master Sgt. Jim Lodyga, who was Miller's team sergeant in Afghanistan, said he was working at the JFK Center when the first of the "X-rays" went through training.

"Without making any kind of a comment on the 18X-ray program, ... you can see there are success stories," Lodyga said. "Robby is one of those unique individuals. I don't care if he came in as an 18X-ray or if he was in the 82nd (Airborne Division) for five years and then switched over to SF or if he was a clerk-typist somewhere. He would have done the same thing."

By all accounts, Miller was an impressive soldier even before the actions that earned him the Medal of Honor.

He was a weapons sergeant, as was McGarry. They are expected to know everything about domestic and foreign weapons so they can teach people in foreign countries or use them when the need arises. Miller would take weapons apart, reassemble them and fire them for hours, McGarry said. Miller pushed McGarry to get better.

Special Forces soldiers train to work with military forces in foreign countries. Miller taught himself Pashtu, a common language in Afghanistan, to help him build rapport with villagers.

 

Patrol leader

Since he could communicate with Afghans without an interpreter, Miller was at the head of the patrol within a few miles of the Pakistan border in the early morning hours of Jan. 25, 2008. He and the other soldiers had been awake for about 36 hours when they were ambushed.

The eight U.S. troops and 15 Afghan soldiers were facing 50 to 75 insurgents.

After years of war, the enemy had become smart about hiding to make its location hard for U.S. aircraft to find and attack. The cloudy weather at that time of year also made it difficult for medical evacuation helicopters to fly.

The outnumbered U.S. and Afghan soldiers were under fire from assault rifles, machine guns and rocket-propelled grenades.

Everybody at the front got down and started shooting back, Lodyga said. Miller yelled back to his other team members where the enemy was, how far away and how many of them were where.

At the first lull in the shooting, the Afghan soldiers jumped up, ran away and hid, Lodyga said.

Miller moved toward the enemy under heavy fire, allowing his outnumbered teammates to gain better positions.

The enemy was shooting from the north, east and south. By himself, Miller handled the enemy on the south.

"He pretty much had this whole side locked down for us," said Chief Warrant Officer 2 Joe Wilson, the assistant detachment commander. "If he would not have been engaging anyone on this side, these guys could have moved around, hit us, and that would have been all for us."

The detachment commander, team sergeant and warrant officer decided to pull back.

"Why Staff Sgt. Miller stayed up front and continued to move forward - again, that's just one of the things that to this day I don't think we're ever going to know," said Cusick, the team captain. "His actions allowed both the Afghan forces and the detachment to break contact and consolidate."

Cusick was shot in the chest.

"Once I went into shock, I was no longer in command," Cusick said. "Initially, I was still able to make conscious decisions."

At first, no one could move to help the captain because so many bullets were hitting around him, Lodyga said.

Miller was firing an M249 machine gun, and its muzzle flash drew the enemy's attention from the wounded captain, Lodyga said.

"Robby, without hesitation, continued to engage the enemy, picked up his volume of fire, which allowed us to move Capt. Cusick out of the kill zone," said Lodyga.

"We were greatly outnumbered," Lodyga said. "The fact that Robby kept moving towards the enemy, kept taking the fight to them, allowed the rest of the ODA to get better positions, to engage the enemy."

Miller was telling his teammates to "bound back" while he stayed, McGarry said.

"As he is saying, 'Bound back!' he is staying up there himself and taking the fight to the enemy," McGarry said. "He knew what he was doing. He was putting himself out there to protect the rest of the patrol that was behind him."

Miller was shot under the right armpit. He turned and killed the enemy fighter who shot him, Lodyga said.

"At that point, Robby didn't stop," Lodyga said. "He continued to fire. He continued to take the fight to the enemy. He threw at least one or two grenades during the battle."

The team lost contact with Miller, and aircraft arrived to help with the fight. Reinforcements may have brought the number of enemy fighters to as many as 200 against the team, which had dwindled to six fighters. A medical evacuation helicopter arrived to take away the captain. A quick-reaction force arrived to assist the Americans.

At some point during the seven-hour battle, Miller received a fatal gunshot wound under his left armpit, Lodyga said.

"Robby was the typical team player," Lodyga said. "He's definitely not selfish at all. He's more concerned about the greater good. He knows we are there as a unit. He knows that we fight as a unit, as a team, as one big individual, not 70 individuals out there."

 

Medal decision

On Sept. 9, the White House said that the president will posthumously award the Medal of Honor to Miller on Wednesday. His parents will accept the medal.

In announcing the medal decision, the White House said: "He displayed immeasurable courage and uncommon valor - eventually sacrificing his own life to save the lives of his teammates and 15 Afghanistan National Army soldiers."

His parents said the announcement was a "relief" after months of wondering what would come of the award process.

"It's not just about Rob," said his father, who added that others on the patrol should be recognized for their heroic actions.

Miller was just focused on what needed to be done and to make sure other people got out of the situation alive, his mother said.

"I would not be here talking to you right now ... if Robby had not done what he did," Lodyga said. "Without him doing what he did, there would be seven less Special Forces soldiers on the face of the Earth right now."

Military editor Henry Cuningham can be reached at cuninghamh@ fayobserver.com or 486-3585.

 

Please remember the Canteen is here to honor, support and entertain our troops and their families.  This is a politics-free zone!  Thanks for helping us in our mission! 

[ButThreeLeftsDo]

Happy Sunday, Kathy!

[left that other site]

Hi Everybody!

(((HUGS)))

[Kathy in Alaska]

Happy Sunday to you, Three....hope you are having a wonderful summer.

First we are without any rain, then off and on, and then HOT weather, for us....70s to low 80s. Can’t make up its mind.

[ButThreeLeftsDo]

Rained here every day for the last five days.

50’s to 90’s and heavy humidity.

More rain about an hour away.

[Kathy in Alaska]

Good evening, ML...((HUGS))...did you and Penny get to hike today? Blue get to stretch her legs?

Overcast here all day...they say 100% chance of rain this evening. I will believe it when I see it.

[left that other site]

We are still in the midst of a horrible heat wave, and Penny, with her very thin coat, is very uncomfortable. She is in the bedroom right now and the A/C is on.

I’ve been riding nearly every day but the last two have been threatening rain, so I’ve not ridden in two days.

penny and I haven’t hiked in over a month. It’s just too hot for her, poor thing.

I, however, did a bit of yard work today. Ungh. I am already in my nighty.

[The Mayor]

Freep mail me to be on or off the Daily Bread ping list

The Joy of Giving

August 6, 2018

Encourage the disheartened, help the weak, be patient with everyone. 1 Thessalonians 5:14

It was a dreary week. I had been feeling lethargic and listless, although I couldn’t figure out why.

Near the end of the week, I found out that an aunt had kidney failure. I knew I had to visit her—but to be honest, I felt like postponing the visit. Still, I made my way to her place, where we had dinner, chatted, and prayed together. An hour later, I left her home feeling upbeat for the first time in days. Focusing on someone else rather than myself had somehow improved my mood.

Psychologists have found that the act of giving can produce satisfaction, which comes when the giver sees the recipient’s gratitude. Some experts even believe that humans are wired to be generous!

Perhaps that’s why Paul, when encouraging the church in Thessalonica to build up their faith community, urged them to “help the weak” (1 Thessalonians 5:14). Earlier, he had also cited Jesus’s words, “It is more blessed to give than to receive” (Acts 20:35). While this was said in the context of giving financially, it applies as well to the giving of time and effort.

When we give, we get an insight into how God feels. We understand why He’s so delighted to give us His love, and we share in His joy and the satisfaction of blessing others. I think I’ll be visiting my aunt again soon.

Father, You have made me to give to others just as You have given to me. Teach me to give so that I can truly reflect Your character and be more like You today.

The giver is the greatest recipient.

INSIGHT

Do you ever feel that you’re always on the giving end? Or do you feel you’re always taking and receiving—with nothing to offer others but your own neediness? Take another look at Paul’s words to the Thessalonians. See if you can hear the wisdom of someone who knows there’s a time to give and a time to receive.

If you sense that you’re receiving more than your fair share of help, does Paul give you any idea about what you have to give even while receiving? Can you see that in acknowledging graciously the hard work of those who are caring for you, God can actually use you to encourage them?

If you seem to be giving to the point of exhaustion, see if you can hear any gentle wisdom here for yourself.

[Kathy in Alaska]

~ Hall of Heroes: SSG Robby Miller ~

FR CANTEEN MISSION STATEMENT

Showing support and boosting the morale of
our military and our allies' military
and the family members of the above.
Honoring those who have served before.

CLICK HERE TO FIND LATEST THREADS

CLICK FOR Current local times around the world

CLICK FOR local times in Seoul, Baghdad, Kabul,
New York, Chicago, Denver, Los Angeles, Anchorage

To every service man or woman reading this thread.
Thank You for your service to our country.
No matter where you are stationed,
No matter what your job description
Know that we are are proud of each and everyone of you.
To our military readers, we remain steadfast
in keeping the Canteen doors open.

The FR Canteen is Free Republic's longest running daily thread
specifically designed to provide entertainment and moral support for the military.
The doors have been open since Oct 7 2001,
the day of the start of the war in Afghanistan.

We are indebted to you for your sacrifices for our Freedom.

NOTE: CANTEEN MUSIC
Posted daily and on the Music Thread
for the enjoyment of our troops and visitors.

[Kathy in Alaska]

Stay dry!! We are supposed to get some in a couple hours, but “they” haven’t been really close for some time. d:o)

[radu]

Greetings to all at the Canteen!

To all our military men and women, past and present,

THANK YOU
for your service!

[ButThreeLeftsDo]

I’m good.

But it must be going to be heavy, based on the number of does and fawns I’ve seen heading for the woods across the street.

[radu]

Howdy, Kathy.

Had a nice, relaxing weekend?

[Kathy in Alaska]

Yard work in the heat...tough work. Hydrate!!

I heard there was a tornado in MA yesterday....anywhere near you?

[left that other site]

It was to the west of me, about 45 miles away.

[left that other site]

Remember...Massachusetts is a TINY state compared to Alaska, so, although we didn’t get an actual twister in our area, we had some crazy downpours that were probably connected to the same supercell.

(((Got my survival gear ready!)))

[Kathy in Alaska]

Good evening, Mayor, and thank you for today’s sustenance for body and soul.

Ready to take on the new week?

[Kathy in Alaska]

Good evening, radu...how’s the heat? Rested from your Saturday work?

Overcast and threatening...they say.

[luvie]

SSG Robby Miller
Medal of Honor Recipricant
Posthumously...
Hero

[radu]

I hope you have better luck getting rain than we’ve had. It seems to have rained everywhere BUT here today. It’s been hot and very steamy as a result.

Won’t say I’m rested up from yesterday but I’m still resting. LOL! Been a low-key day. The last load of laundry is in the dryer so at least something was accomplished.

Still digging into this uniform stuff in hopes of being of some help at the museum. It’s astounding how many different uniforms there have been over the years. I’ve run across some I recognize that I’ve cleaned and hung upstairs.