The headquarters constructing for Group Assist Battalion, third Special Forces Group, was devoted to Sgt. 1st Class Jeremiah Johnson on Tuesday, 5 years to the day of the ambushed mission that took the lives of Johnson and three different U.S. troopers in Niger.
Johnson, Sgt. La David Johnson, Employees Sgt. Dustin Wright and Employees Sgt. Bryan Black have been killed Oct. 4, 2017, close to Tongo Tongo, Niger, coming back from a mission alongside 30 Nigerien partnered forces. The group was ambushed by small-arms fireplace, rocket propelled grenades and technical autos by roughly 50 Islamic State militants.
“I’m so happy with what my son did,” Debra Gannon, Johnson’s mom stated in an interview with Army Occasions following the ceremony.
“I might give something on the earth to have him again and have none of this on the market but it surely occurred and I can’t do something to vary that, and the truth that they’re honoring him, on this means, I’m greater than proud — the satisfaction that I’ve in my son is past phrases,” she stated.
The transfer to call the headquarters constructing after Johnson — who of the 4 killed was the one soldier assigned to GSB — has been within the works for greater than a yr, Capt. Nicholas Erikson, a public affairs officer for third Group advised Army Occasions.
“Members of GSB lobbied to call the constructing after Jeremiah Johnson — who was assigned to GSB’s Chemical, Organic, Radiological, Nuclear (CBRN) Reconnaissance Detachment — was killed in motion,” Erikson stated.
All 4 troopers killed within the ambush have additionally been memorialized with stones on the Group Memorial Stroll and have plaques commemorating their lives and sacrifice contained in the third Group headquarters constructing, he added.
The fifth anniversary and the dedication ceremony have been additionally noticed with a memorial ruck run hosted by the troopers of GSB. They are going to “all the time bear in mind Jeremiah and proceed to inform his story,” GSB commander Lt. Col. Michael E. Ashton stated of the dedication.
The Niger ambush has been the supply of nice controversy for the Army. Initially, statements from prime army brass positioned the blame for the botched mission on the troopers themselves.
High leaders — together with former Chairman of the Joint Chiefs Gen. Joseph Dunford and U.S. Africa Command boss Gen. Thomas Waldhauser — repeatedly advised the households and the media that the lads weren’t correctly ready.
The workforce chief, Capt. Michael Perozeni, shouldered a lot of the blame for the ambush till it was revealed that he requested to not proceed the mission after the helicopter assault pressure they have been supporting unexpectedly pulled out attributable to climate points, in accordance with the redacted investigation.
Perozeni was involved as a result of his workforce had been up for 18 hours and nonetheless needed to journey 25 kilometers via tough terrain underneath restricted visibility to conduct the raid on their very own, the investigation acknowledged. Regardless of the considerations, the workforce was directed by their battalion commander in Chad to proceed the mission anyway.
“I’m glad that they’re getting phrase on the market about what occurred that day, and that an increasing number of individuals are discovering out the reality and that the blame is taken off of these boys, as a result of that damage me past phrases,” Gannon stated.
“My son was one hell of a soldier.”
For his or her actions that day, each La David Johnson and Jeremiah Johnson acquired Silver Stars and have been made honorary Inexperienced Berets. Wright was additionally awarded the Silver Star, and Black acquired a Bronze Star with Valor machine.
Rachel is a Marine Corps veteran and a grasp’s candidate at New York College’s Enterprise & Financial Reporting program.
