Gunnery Sgt. Brian Jacklin Awarded the Navy Cross

At the O.C. Register, "Valor is 'what these Marines are all about,' officer says of those who earned Navy Cross, Bronze Star":

CAMP PENDLETON – Gunnery Sgt. Brian Jacklin still remembers being vastly outnumbered and surrounded by the enemy in a small village in the volatile Helmand Province of western Afghanistan.

He and his team of nine special operations Marines had taken heavy fire for hours from outside a compound. His captain and a sergeant had been hit and were bleeding out. Jacklin saw blowing out the wall as the only way to evacuate his wounded comrades and get his team to a landing zone and an arriving copter.

“I asked the guys, ‘Does anyone have a problem with blowing out the wall to get out of here?’” Jacklin recalled. “They all said ‘I’m in, just do it.’ There was no hesitation when I gave the order. I told them, ‘If you get hit on your way out just keep going and we’ll figure it out afterward.’”

After the wounded and his team were evacuated, Jacklin stayed behind providing intelligence and personal fire to the assisting SEAL Team 3 and local Afghan forces.

Jacklin, 32, a critical skills operator with 1st Marine Special Operations Battalion, on Thursday was awarded the Navy Cross – the nation’s second-highest award for valor.

“With his decisive actions, bold initiative and complete dedication to duty, Jacklin reflected great credit upon himself and upheld the highest traditions of the U.S. Naval Service,” his citation reads.

He was decorated by Maj. Gen. Joseph Osterman, commander of the Marine Corps Forces Special Operations Command, during a ceremony at Camp Pendleton. Jacklin received his medal for heroic actions during a 48-hour standoff with the enemy while he was part of a team conducting village stability operations in Afghanistan’s volatile Upper Gereshk Valley in June 2012.

During the ceremony, five of Jacklin’s team members – all critical skill operators – also were honored with the Bronze Star with combat “V” device for their role in the battle. They included Gunnery Sgt. William Simpson IV, Staff Sgt. Christopher Buckminster, Staff Sgt. Hafeez Hussein, Sgt. William Hall and Sgt. David Harris.

“These six extraordinary Marines are being recognized for their gallantry and valor,” Osterman said. “It always takes a team to make it work. This epitomizes the team concept and what these Marines are all about.”