WEBVTT

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under normal conditions . Most members

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of the Special Operations Command would

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be content to let their exploits

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overseas go unnoticed , flying below

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the radar . But for five members of the

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20th Special forces group out of

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Chicago . This wasn't the case . The

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National Guard Green Berets received a

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rare honor monday when the government

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of France bestowed upon them one of

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their highest military awards , the

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quad dela velu military In a private

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ceremony at the french ambassador's

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residence as member of the U . S .

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Special forces engaged in Afghanistan

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as part of operation From July to

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December 2009 within the alpha

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detachment , you demonstrated the

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highest military qualities and sense of

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duty . The guardsmen , Captain Tom

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harper , Master Sergeant , Dave

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newcomer , Sergeant , first class Ryan

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O Hearn , Staff Sergeant Casey roberts

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and Sergeant Ryan meister were honored

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for their courage in combat while

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providing support to a regiment of the

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french foreign legion In and around the

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use Bean Valley Afghanistan in 2009 .

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It's a great honour , huge honor for us ,

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all of us from 2nd battalion and a

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company specifically . Okay , we we had

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a kind of a tough fight that last few

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days in Afghanistan and we were just

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happy to be alive . We really didn't

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expect this kind of honor to occur and

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now they're having it up in Washington

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D . C . Of all places . It's pretty

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overwhelming . I got to tell you on

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hand to witness the award ceremony was

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the Army's Chief of Staff , General

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martin Dempsey . This is about what it

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means to be a member of a profession

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and building a bond of trust with those

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who share our values . And so , you

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know , whenever I hear about these

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events , I flocked to them because I

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think it's very important to recognize

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the accomplishment . Although all five

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guardsmen would admit that they didn't

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set out to seek recognition for their

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heroic exploits . Sergeant , first

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class Ahern sums up the group's

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feelings about being recognized by

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another country with such a rich

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military tradition . We typically or

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closed mouth about what goes on by

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necessity . But then we realized that

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there are times we need to take credit

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for stuff and I think this is a good

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opportunity for people , both the U . S .

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And France to see that these are what

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your soldiers are doing for the

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pentagon channel . This is Sergeant ,

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first class robert , Stephenson ,

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National Guard Bureau , Public Affairs .