- Joined
- May 18, 2009
- Location
- st augustine,florida
Army Lt. Michael Conaway had plenty to brag about before September of this year.
Since his commissioning in 2008, he's successfully finished infantry, Ranger and Pathfinder schools and Stryker combat vehicle training. He's also earned his jump wings and the Combat Infantryman Badge.
Now the 24-year-old Orange Park native has something else to pin to his uniform: the Bronze Star with Valor device. He earned the medal during a combat action on Sept. 11, just a few months after his unit, part of the Hawaii-based 25th Infantry Division, deployed to Iraq.
He and a handful of members of his platoon were decorated this month in a ceremony in which Conaway praised his men and said he was just doing his job that day - his first under direct enemy fire.
The Times-Union spoke wwith Conaway by telephone on Friday about his time in the Army, what it's like being shot at and serving in Iraq since the drawdown of U.S. forces there.
Where are you currently based - where are you speaking from?
I'm at FOB [Forward Operating Base] Warhorse in Diyala province ... about 50 to 60 miles northeast of Baghdad.
What's your daily routine like there?
I go out six days a week on different missions. We do partner missions with the Iraqis and patrols to protect the base. By and large we leave the base mounted [on Stryker armored vehicles], but we get on the ground on foot a lot.
Does anything in Iraq remind you of Northeast Florida?
There are a lot of palm trees. So they have that in common. And a lot of sand. A lot of sand, like the beach, but no ocean.
Why did you opt for the Army, and why infantry?
I came from a family of pilots. My grandfather was a pilot. My dad was a pilot. Something just appealed to me about being on the ground, to be directly involved in what's going on. In the air, you're there to support, but you're an impartial observer. One big reason I did join the military was for a challenge, and doing all I could do to contribute something.
So for you it was family tradition, not 9/11, that inspired you to join the military?
Nine-11 does help. It gives you more motivation. But I would have done it regardless. I feel that by doing something like this, you're giving back to society and earning the freedoms we might otherwise take for granted.
Are Americans wrong to believe Iraq is a quiet, safe place since the drawdown of forces there?
Iraq, of course, is a dangerous place to serve. It's definitely hazardous even though our role has changed. ... Iraqi forces are doing a much better job and statistically attacks are down 90 percent nationwide.
What's the most difficult situation you've encountered since you arrived in Iraq in July?
For me personally it was the loss of a good friend pretty shortly after we got here. First Lt. Michael Runyon was killed two weeks after we got in country by an IED [improvised explosive device]. It was kind of a wake-up call that we were in Iraq. ... In our brigade we've had four killed in action, including [Runyan].
What happened on the day for which you were decorated?
The Iraqi police had gotten a report from a rural area that there were insurgents in that area. ... They sent in an assault and we coordinated with the scout helos [helicopters]. But the palm grove was dense and the helos had trouble seeing. We decided we would go in [with the Iraqis] as advisers to help accomplish the mission.
Combat in Iraq evokes images of urban areas or desert terrain. What was it like fighting in that palm grove?
The vegetation was very dense. There were natural trenches in the grove. The Iraqis took more casualties, so we pulled out and called in an air strike. We hit the grove with a couple bombs.
What happened next?
Then we went back on second assault. The problem was a lot of daylight expired. The Iraqis gained more ground, but the ... fighting was slow. When nightfall came, the Iraqis withdrew along with me and six members of my platoon. ... It was my first time under fire.
What was it like having bullets flying at you?
They make a cracking noise. But I go back to the muscle memory to what I've been trained. And there were other factors. The heat, and we were starving because we hadn't eaten. A lot of the time I was out there, even though we were under fire, I was thinking how much I wanted some food.
How do you stay focused while under fire, in that kind of heat and fighting intense hunger?
Your biggest concern is you just want [your troops] to be safe. You try to stay focused on what they're doing and keeping them out of harm's way while also making sure they're accomplishing the mission.
You received a Bronze Star medal with a Valor device. What is a Valor device?
It means that rather than receiving the award for achievement or service, you are getting it for a particularly valorous action.
What happened in that action that got you and your men those medals?
It was our ability to restrain ourselves from doing everything for the Iraqis. Being infantry, we want to do the job as efficiently as we can. But right now, in the transition, we're letting them stand on their own two feet, which can be very difficult.
So it recognized your patience under fire?
We were there, we were exposed to gunfire, but we still let the Iraqis do everything when we could have resolved the situation quicker. My men showed restraint.
Since his commissioning in 2008, he's successfully finished infantry, Ranger and Pathfinder schools and Stryker combat vehicle training. He's also earned his jump wings and the Combat Infantryman Badge.
Now the 24-year-old Orange Park native has something else to pin to his uniform: the Bronze Star with Valor device. He earned the medal during a combat action on Sept. 11, just a few months after his unit, part of the Hawaii-based 25th Infantry Division, deployed to Iraq.
He and a handful of members of his platoon were decorated this month in a ceremony in which Conaway praised his men and said he was just doing his job that day - his first under direct enemy fire.
The Times-Union spoke wwith Conaway by telephone on Friday about his time in the Army, what it's like being shot at and serving in Iraq since the drawdown of U.S. forces there.
Where are you currently based - where are you speaking from?
I'm at FOB [Forward Operating Base] Warhorse in Diyala province ... about 50 to 60 miles northeast of Baghdad.
What's your daily routine like there?
I go out six days a week on different missions. We do partner missions with the Iraqis and patrols to protect the base. By and large we leave the base mounted [on Stryker armored vehicles], but we get on the ground on foot a lot.
Does anything in Iraq remind you of Northeast Florida?
There are a lot of palm trees. So they have that in common. And a lot of sand. A lot of sand, like the beach, but no ocean.
Why did you opt for the Army, and why infantry?
I came from a family of pilots. My grandfather was a pilot. My dad was a pilot. Something just appealed to me about being on the ground, to be directly involved in what's going on. In the air, you're there to support, but you're an impartial observer. One big reason I did join the military was for a challenge, and doing all I could do to contribute something.
So for you it was family tradition, not 9/11, that inspired you to join the military?
Nine-11 does help. It gives you more motivation. But I would have done it regardless. I feel that by doing something like this, you're giving back to society and earning the freedoms we might otherwise take for granted.
Are Americans wrong to believe Iraq is a quiet, safe place since the drawdown of forces there?
Iraq, of course, is a dangerous place to serve. It's definitely hazardous even though our role has changed. ... Iraqi forces are doing a much better job and statistically attacks are down 90 percent nationwide.
What's the most difficult situation you've encountered since you arrived in Iraq in July?
For me personally it was the loss of a good friend pretty shortly after we got here. First Lt. Michael Runyon was killed two weeks after we got in country by an IED [improvised explosive device]. It was kind of a wake-up call that we were in Iraq. ... In our brigade we've had four killed in action, including [Runyan].
What happened on the day for which you were decorated?
The Iraqi police had gotten a report from a rural area that there were insurgents in that area. ... They sent in an assault and we coordinated with the scout helos [helicopters]. But the palm grove was dense and the helos had trouble seeing. We decided we would go in [with the Iraqis] as advisers to help accomplish the mission.
Combat in Iraq evokes images of urban areas or desert terrain. What was it like fighting in that palm grove?
The vegetation was very dense. There were natural trenches in the grove. The Iraqis took more casualties, so we pulled out and called in an air strike. We hit the grove with a couple bombs.
What happened next?
Then we went back on second assault. The problem was a lot of daylight expired. The Iraqis gained more ground, but the ... fighting was slow. When nightfall came, the Iraqis withdrew along with me and six members of my platoon. ... It was my first time under fire.
What was it like having bullets flying at you?
They make a cracking noise. But I go back to the muscle memory to what I've been trained. And there were other factors. The heat, and we were starving because we hadn't eaten. A lot of the time I was out there, even though we were under fire, I was thinking how much I wanted some food.
How do you stay focused while under fire, in that kind of heat and fighting intense hunger?
Your biggest concern is you just want [your troops] to be safe. You try to stay focused on what they're doing and keeping them out of harm's way while also making sure they're accomplishing the mission.
You received a Bronze Star medal with a Valor device. What is a Valor device?
It means that rather than receiving the award for achievement or service, you are getting it for a particularly valorous action.
What happened in that action that got you and your men those medals?
It was our ability to restrain ourselves from doing everything for the Iraqis. Being infantry, we want to do the job as efficiently as we can. But right now, in the transition, we're letting them stand on their own two feet, which can be very difficult.
So it recognized your patience under fire?
We were there, we were exposed to gunfire, but we still let the Iraqis do everything when we could have resolved the situation quicker. My men showed restraint.