Leigh Ann Hester
Leigh Ann Hester | |
---|---|
Born | Bowling Green, Kentucky, U.S. | 12 January 1982
Allegiance | United States |
Service/ | United States Army |
Years of service | 2001–2009, 2010–present |
Rank | Sergeant first class |
Unit | 617th Military Police Company 269th Military Police Company[1] |
Battles/wars | Iraq War War in Afghanistan Hurricane Maria response |
Awards | Silver Star Army Commendation Medal |
Other work | Law enforcement officer |
Leigh Ann Hester (born 12 January 1982)[2] is a United States Army National Guard soldier. While assigned to the 617th Military Police Company,[3] a Kentucky Army National Guard unit out of Richmond, Kentucky,[3] Hester received the Silver Star for her heroic actions on 20 March 2005 during an enemy ambush on a supply convoy near the town of Salman Pak, Iraq.[4]
Hester is the first female U.S. Army soldier to receive the Silver Star since World War II and the first ever to be cited for valor in close quarters combat.[5]
Career
2000s
Hester enlisted in the U.S. Army in April 2001.
In Iraq,[3] Hester's military police squad, consisting of eight men and two women in three Humvees, were shadowing a 30-truck supply convoy when approximately 50 insurgent fighters ambushed the convoy with AK-47, RPK machine gun fire, and rocket propelled grenades (RPG). The squad moved to the side of the road, flanking the insurgents and cutting off their escape route. Hester maneuvered her fire team through the kill zone and into a flanking position, where her squad leader, Staff Sergeant Timothy F. Nein, and she assaulted a trench line with hand grenades and M203 grenade launcher rounds. Nein and Hester assaulted and cleared two trenches. During the 25-minute firefight, Hester killed 3 insurgents.[6]
When the battle was over, 27 insurgents were dead, six were wounded, and one captured. Sergeants Nein and Hester were both awarded the Silver Star.[3][6] Nein's medal was later upgraded to the Distinguished Service Cross.[7]
Also awarded the Silver Star in this ambush was Specialist Jason Mike, a platoon medic who took up and simultaneously fired an M4 carbine and M249 SAW light machine gun in defense of his comrades.[6]
Hester later transferred to the Tennessee Army National Guard.[1]
Hester took a brief break from the National Guard in 2009, and worked as an officer for a civilian law enforcement agency in a Nashville, Tennessee suburb. However, she returned to the military a short while later, in late 2010.[3][8]
2010s
From 2012 to 2014, she served as an instructor at the 117th Regional Training Institute Military Police School. In 2014, she deployed to Afghanistan for 18 months as a Cultural Support Team member.[9][10][11] Hester has since been promoted to the rank of sergeant first class.[9] In 2017, Hester deployed to Saint Croix, U.S. Virgin Islands as part of the response to Hurricane Maria. Hester's military police company provided law enforcement support to the U.S. Virgin Islands Police.[12]
Awards and decorations
See also
References
- ^ a b "On the Cover" (PDF). VolState Guard. Tennessee National Guard. March 2012. Archived from the original (PDF) on 25 April 2013. Retrieved 27 January 2013.
- ^ "Free Family Tree, Genealogy and Family History - MyHeritage". www.familytreelegends.com.
- ^ a b c d e "Hester". Women in the U.S. Army. United States Army. 31 August 2012. Retrieved 27 January 2013.
- ^ "50 Heroes for 50 States – U.S. Department of Defense Update". United States Department of Defense. Retrieved 30 December 2006.
- ^ Sergeant Sara Wood. "Female Soldier receives Silver Star in Iraq". Department of Defense. Retrieved 16 March 2011.
- ^ a b c Steve Fainaru (26 June 2005). "Silver Stars Affirm One Unit's Mettle". Washington Post. Retrieved 27 January 2013.
- ^ Doubler, Michael D. (2008). The National Guard and Reserve: A Reference Handbook. Contemporary Military, Strategic, and Security Issues. Greenwood Publishing Group. p. 135. ISBN 9780275993252. Retrieved 27 January 2013.
- ^ Martin, Rachel (22 February 2011). "Silver Star Recipient A Reluctant Hero". NPR. Retrieved 23 February 2011.
- ^ a b Cowan, Jill (29 August 2015). "Franklin Silver Star recipient talks women in military". The Tennessean.
- ^ "Franklin Silver Star recipient talks women in military".
- ^ "Female Silver Star recipient returns to Franklin PD".
- ^ Mondale, Arthur (12 October 2017). "National Guard MPs and SFs fight criminal activity post-hurricane". The Pentagram. US Department of Defense. Retrieved 23 January 2018.
Further reading
- Chapter "Palm Sunday Ambush", pages 59–81 of In Contact! – Case Studies from the Long War (PDF, 167 pages)
- Complete text of Sergeant Hester's citation for conspicuous gallantry in action
- Women in the U.S. Army
External links
- Media related to Leigh Ann Hester at Wikimedia Commons
- Use dmy dates from January 2013
- 1982 births
- Living people
- American army personnel of the Iraq War
- People from Bowling Green, Kentucky
- Military personnel from Kentucky
- People from Nashville, Tennessee
- Recipients of the Silver Star
- United States Army soldiers
- Women in the Iraq War
- Women in the United States Army
- Kentucky National Guard personnel
- Military police of the United States Army
- Military personnel from Tennessee