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Explosive ordnance Reservist earns Bronze Star

  • Published
  • By Airman 1st Class Patrick Cabellon
  • 446th Airlift Wing Public Affairs
MCCHORD AIR FORCE BASE, Wash. --  From the tragedies of war sprouts courage, reward; even glints of humanity. Senior Master Sgt. James Coley, 446th Civil Engineer Squadron Explosive Ordnance Disposal Flight, has seen this first-hand from his deployment into the middle of bombed-out Baghdad.

Sergeant Coley was awarded the Bronze Star for his extraordinary leadership, selfless action, and embodiment of the Air Force core values while in the line of duty Oct. 21, 2008 to April 15, 2009. Sergeant Coley's leadership over his group of explosives specialists played a critical role in clearing explosives and securing areas within Baghdad. This allowed for the safe movement of tens of thousands of U.S. military personnel, as well as Iraqi civilians.

Sergeant Coley's team of explosive disposal specialists and combat engineers in Iraq conducted a staggering 867 combat missions. Sergeant Coley and his team, operating out of Forward Operating Base Loyalty, Baghdad, Iraq, were instrumental in clearing many improvised explosives, insurgent weapons caches, and old unexploded ordnance from the dense populace of downtown Baghdad.

The few things on his mind during their missions were the safety of the troops, protecting human life, and fulfilling his duties to the best of his ability.

"My people are the ones that got the (Bronze Star), not myself," he said wholeheartedly. "It was their actions that are the real achievement here."
Sergeant Coley's team members constantly putting their own lives in danger to keep others safe, he said.

While deployed, Sergeant Coley supervised the allocation of $45 million worth of military assets to FOB Loyalty. He supervised the transformation of FOB Loyalty into two functioning shops - Joint Security Station Loyalty and Talil Air Base. For his efficiency, the U.S. Army saw fit to award him the Army Achievement Medal. Another award Sergeant Coley received while on deployment was the Army Commendation Medal.

"Manpower was down by 33 percent from all of the movement of assets. We were still able to maintain a fully-functional FOB," said Sergeant Coley.

On many occasions he found himself working closely with Iraqi Security Forces and an Iraqi Bomb Disposal Company.

"It was quite easy to work with them, and they were very friendly," said Sergeant Coley.
Sergeant Coley had an Iraqi-American civilian linguist to help with any language barriers, he said. He helped train Iraqi soldiers about proper demolition procedures.

On Christmas Sergeant Coley rode in place of one of his men to give him a break; something he did periodically. He brought a large stocking filled to the brim with candy along on the patrol. As they drove around the crowded streets of Baghdad he tossed candy out to the locals from the gunner position. There was some pushing and shoving as people raced to get the sweet treats, he said.

A scene that sticks out in his mind is one of a little boy and little girl. He aimed his next toss directly to the little girl picks it up and hands it to the boy. It was a heartfelt gift that touched Sergeant Coley's heart. He threw more candy to the girl so she could have some of her own, he said.

An act of kindness was directed toward him and his men while checking out a detonation site.

In a journal entry he writes:

"...I marveled in watching a 4-year-old girl smile as her mother brought my troops tea.
Understand that water is a high commodity in this country as there is no governmental structure that provides normal utilities. The girl was clinging to her mother's leg; she was dressed in pink sweatpants, black tattered unbuckled shoes, and a flower print shirt. Her face and hands were clean but she had dirty clothes on. She was missing a tooth or two and her hair was messy. She was adorable.

"They greeted us with "Salaam Alaikum" while we were doing a post-blast assessment and searching the remains of a vehicle that exploded in front of their home.

"I am embarrassed to say that at the time I didn't know the Arabic words for "thank you." It is "Shukran." The gratitude and courage of this woman, to come into the street, out in open danger with her daughter is unexplainable - yet glaringly present with the majority of the Iraqi women and children. We must be providing some basic need or safety. I am not sure what comfort we brought them by being there, but it must have existed because they brought us tea."

A part of Sergeant Coley's job as an explosives subject matter expert is to arrive at a site where any sort of explosive had been detonated, and scour the scene with his experience-honed eyes. He would sleuth for any clues, probing the site for the type of explosive that had been used, its effectiveness, how it was hidden, and what its triggers were.

While not in the desert blowing up insurgent weapons and munitions caches, Sergeant Coley works as a detective for the Washington County Sheriff's Department, Ore.

Skills from his civilian career come in handy while attending to his Reserve duties.

"I am an arson investigator at (my civilian job) and I look for and collect evidence," said Sergeant Coley.

Sergeant Coley has returned from Iraq, but has not returned to his job as an arson investigator. He is currently attending the Senior NCO Academy and will go on to attend the Chief Host Aviation Resource Manager course, also known as CHARM school.