1st Armored out of Iraq; Mansoor gets Bronze Star

NEW ULM -- Col. Peter Mansoor, a New Ulm native serving with the U.S. Army in Iraq, has been awarded the Bronze Star Medal, with valor, for his service.

Mansoor, who commands the First Brigade, First Armored Division, was honored for "extraordinary valor under fire during Operation Iron Sabre, 16 April 15 July 2004. Col. Mansoor's vision, tenacity and skillful application of combat power led directly to the liberation of Karbala and the defeat of the Jaysh Al Mahdi Militia in Central-South Iraq. Pete Mansoor's leadership during intense combat allowed the coalition to regain the initiative in the crucial period leading up to the restoration of Iraqi sovereignty."

In a recent e-mail to Denis Warta, Mansoor's godfather, Mansoor described his unit's mission, which ended on July 7, when the troops were transported back to their home base in Germany.

"In May 2003m the 3,500 soldiers of the Ready First Combat Team left their home stations in Germany and deployed to Kuwait to begin a journey that would take them to Baghdad in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom. Over the course of the next 15 months, these warriors engaged in combat operations to protect the United States from the scourge of global terrorism and bring freedom and democracy to a land and people long oppressed.

"During this period the Ready First Combat Team neutralized the enemy in its zone of operations, which encompassed 195 square kilometers of dense urban terrain in northeast Baghdad containing 2.1 million people. The six battalions and four separate companies of the Ready First Combat Team conducted aggressive combat operations to include nine brigade-level operations, nearly 50,000 patrols, and over 400 raids, which resulted in the capture or killing of over a thousand enemy combatants, the confiscation of several thousands of weapons, and the seizure of several hundred tons of ammunition and explosives.

"The Ready First Combat Team formed numerous neighborhood and district advisory councils to allow Iraqis a voice in their local government, trained over 2,000 members of the security forces to begin the process of turning security matters over to Iraqi control, and coordinated for roughly $6 million in civic action projects to improve Iraqi quality of life.

"When uprisings in Fallujah and across south-central Iraq forced the extension of the Iron Soldiers of the 1st Armored Division for an additional three months of combat, the soldiers of the 1st Brigade, 1st Armored Division and the Ready First Combat Team answered Duty's call and conducted operations to destroy the Jaish Al-Mahdi in Karbala, Kut, Kufa, and Najaf. For the 37th Armored Regiment, this was the most significant combat since the unit's drive to relieve Bastogne during the Battle of the Bulge in 1944.

"Over 230 soldiers in the Ready First Combat Team were awarded Purple Hearts, to include 24 who made the ultimate sacrifice for their nation.

"At 0001 hours on 7 July 2004, the Ready First Combat Team completed its mission with transfer of its role as the Multinational Corps-Iraq Operational Reserve and began its journey home with honors.

"I will be departing Iraq shortly. Thank you all for your unwaivering support during a long and challenging year. It has been an honor and a privilege to lead America's finest sons and daughters in combat."