Fighting New Battles - Arkansas National Guard

The Arkansas MinutemanfeatureArkansas NationalGuard hero earnsSilver Star medalStory and photos by Sgt. Rick Fahr119th Mobile Public Affairs DetachmentThe scene was reminiscent of an action movie, but the situation1st Lt. Michael McCarty found himself in was real, and itwas dire.Baghdad, Iraq. Nov. 20, 2004.McCarty’s platoon was serving as a quick reaction forcefor elements of the Arkansas National Guard’s 39th BrigadeCombat Team. An insurgent attack on a nearby Iraqi policestation forced McCarty to lead his platoon into action.As the troops neared the station, they found themselvesoutnumbered by insurgents armed with rocket-propelled grenades,machine guns and small arms.A suicide car bomber stormed the platoon’s convoy, detonatingthe vehicle 20 feet from one of its gunships, injuringtwo of McCarty’s troops.Springing to action, the lieutenant evacuated the woundedtroops and quickly returned to the battle. What he found wasapproximately 75 insurgents facing his two dozen Guardsmen.At that moment, an armor-piercing rocket-propelled grenadestruck the lieutenant’s vehicle, incapacitating the driver,gunner and radio operator. McCarty was the only consciousperson in the vehicle as it rolled out of control.As it continued to roll, McCarty saw a three-man ma-Col. Mike Ross, commander of theArkansas National Guard’s 39thBrigade Combat Team, congratulates1st Lt. Michael McCarty forreceiving the Silver Star. McCartywas honored in a ceremony at theCol. A.J. “Bo” Baker ReadinessCenter in Searcy, Ark., Feb. 4.Page 22 Summer 2006