thedrifter
10-12-07, 07:29 PM
2/3 Marine wins Leftwich Trophy
By Michael Hoffman - Staff writer
Posted : Friday Oct 12, 2007 16:17:52 EDT
Days after Maj. Matthew Tracy took over the Iraqi police force in Ramadi in February 2006, insurgents murdered 13 of the 24 policemen.
“One of the guys remaining came to me and said, ‘I passed my lot with the wrong crew, you guys are worthless, my kid brother has been killed, my brother has been killed,’” said Tracy, who was then a captain with 2nd Battalion, 3rd Marines.
It’s a situation other officers have faced in Iraq, but Tracy’s efforts boosted the Ramadi police force from 11 to 200 members in about six months and helped him become the 28th recipient of the prestigious Leftwich Trophy for Outstanding Leadership.
He received the trophy at the Marine Corp Association’s Ground Awards Dinner on Oct. 11 in Washington, D.C. Tracy was selected from a pool of active-duty captains from the ground combat-arms community holding battery or company command.
The award is named for Lt. Col. William Leftwich, commanding officer of 1st Reconnaissance Battalion during the Vietnam War, who earned the Navy Cross and the Silver Star. Leftwich died in a helicopter crash in November 1970 during an emergency extraction of his men after participating in 27 major operations against the Viet Cong.
“It is incredibly humbling,” Tracy said. “When you look at the guys that have come before, it’s like, why am I the one?”
Tracy joined the Corps in 1997. He deployed to Albania in 1999, where he was the guard force commander of Camp Fier, a refugee camp. He was also the mission commander during the 2004 ricin attack on Capitol Hill in Washington, D.C.
Ellie
By Michael Hoffman - Staff writer
Posted : Friday Oct 12, 2007 16:17:52 EDT
Days after Maj. Matthew Tracy took over the Iraqi police force in Ramadi in February 2006, insurgents murdered 13 of the 24 policemen.
“One of the guys remaining came to me and said, ‘I passed my lot with the wrong crew, you guys are worthless, my kid brother has been killed, my brother has been killed,’” said Tracy, who was then a captain with 2nd Battalion, 3rd Marines.
It’s a situation other officers have faced in Iraq, but Tracy’s efforts boosted the Ramadi police force from 11 to 200 members in about six months and helped him become the 28th recipient of the prestigious Leftwich Trophy for Outstanding Leadership.
He received the trophy at the Marine Corp Association’s Ground Awards Dinner on Oct. 11 in Washington, D.C. Tracy was selected from a pool of active-duty captains from the ground combat-arms community holding battery or company command.
The award is named for Lt. Col. William Leftwich, commanding officer of 1st Reconnaissance Battalion during the Vietnam War, who earned the Navy Cross and the Silver Star. Leftwich died in a helicopter crash in November 1970 during an emergency extraction of his men after participating in 27 major operations against the Viet Cong.
“It is incredibly humbling,” Tracy said. “When you look at the guys that have come before, it’s like, why am I the one?”
Tracy joined the Corps in 1997. He deployed to Albania in 1999, where he was the guard force commander of Camp Fier, a refugee camp. He was also the mission commander during the 2004 ricin attack on Capitol Hill in Washington, D.C.
Ellie