Combat Advancement awarded to TACAMO Sailor

Published Aug. 28, 2007
By Petty Officer 1st Class Charles L. Ludwig
Strategic Communications Wing ONE

TINKER AIR FORCE BASE -- Spending 12 months serving as a police trainer in a northeast province of Afghanistan has earned a master-at-arms from the Take Charge and Move Out community in Oklahoma the rarest of accomplishments - a combat promotion.
   Petty Officer 2nd Class Brian Mullis of Strategic Communications Wing ONE served with the Asadabad Provincial Reconstruction Team in the Kunar Province of Afghanistan as a member of the police training advisory team in support of Operation Enduring Freedom and the Global War on Terror from May 2006 to May 2007.
   For his service there, he was officially promoted to master-at-arms second Class Aug. 17 through the Combat Meritorious Advancement Progam. The promotion is retroactive to July 9.
   "This feels pretty good," Petty Officer Mullis said after his advancement ceremony. "(CMAP) is a great program for those guys that go over there and go above and beyond to put themselves in danger. There were times where it was real dangerous and things could have gotten pretty ugly. To go over there and be recognized like this makes you feel like it was all worth it.
   While in country, Petty Officer Mullis, along with three other team members on an Individual Augmentee assignment, provided local Afghanistan security forces, army and border police with the basics they needed to defend their country and borders.
   "We were overseeing all 13 districts there, making sure they were running properly. We made sure they were getting paid, had the ammunition and uniforms they needed," Petty Officer Mullis said. "We were constantly training them, making sure they knew how to shoot different kinds of weapons, be a team and respond to threats... We dug everything we knew into their brains - how to handcuff, how to use batons, how to use your voice as a presence. We were teaching them how to be a police officer.
   "Americans put a lot of money in to building up these places, and they wanted us to see that everything was going well."
   In the process of overseeing the training, Petty Officer Mullis saw combat action five times, he said.
   "We were in the middle of things every once in awhile," he said. "Mostly it was rocket attacks, mortar attacks or direct fire from the mountaintops. In those cases, they would shoot at you and run off. But twice we had direct conflict between us and anti-coalition groups."
   When speaking about his advancement, Petty Officer Mullis said he is happy not only for himself, but for others who have made the decision to take IA assignments.
   "This is for Sailors who have put themselves in harm's way," he said. "I could have easily stayed here in Oklahoma and sat on the flightline or sat in an office somewhere. I went on this assignment voluntarily. So I think it is great that people are getting rewarded for actually putting their lives on the line."
   Petty Officer Mullis is the first Sailor from Strategic Communications Wing ONE to advance through CMAP since its inception in April 2005. According to SCW-1 Wing Commander Capt. Brian Costello, Petty Officer Mullis is a prime example of the quality of Sailor that the TACAMO community is sending on IA assignments.
   "Petty Officer Mullis received three separate medals for his actions in combat," Capt. Costello said. "We are all extremely fortunate to have Sailors like MA2 Mullis who help to safeguard our freedoms. He is the perfect representative for Sailors filling non-traditional roles in this war and is just one of 30 Sailors from Tinker filling individual augmentee assignments in the Mideast today."
   CMAP, which is specifically targeted at Sailors who serve in deployed combat units and are involved in combat operations, is for Sailors E-1 through E-5 who have demonstrated extraordinary deeds, outstanding leadership and uncommon valor while engaged or in support of direct combat operations.
   The program provides commanders the opportunity to advance junior enlisted Sailors who display these characteristics while engaged in, or in direct support of, combat operations.
   Examples include Sailors who are participating in ground action against an armed opponent, involved in offensive or defensive engagements against hostile seaborne watercraft, participating in ordnance clearing and removal or taking part in anti-terrorism/force protection missions with engagement of opposing forces.
   Upon returning from Afghanistan, Petty Officer Mullis served in SCW-1's security department, working as a master-at-arms in the command's restricted barracks - a change of pace for a Sailor who got used to the pressure of combat. That was by design, according to Petty Officer Mullis.
   "(The chain of command) wanted me to come back and kind of unwind and get back into a more normal way of life," he said. "I was over there living in a small room with three other guys where there was nowhere to go. So getting back into your own room and being able to just go to a store whenever you want to and things like that are a big transition to make."
   Now, Petty Mullis is transferring from SCW-1 to the Portsmouth Naval Shipyard in New Hampshire. Although that assignment likely will not have as much action as his last, he said he's thinking about his future in the Navy.
   "Putting on (petty officer second class) opens up some doors for me as far as going back to sea. I would like to see a ship," he said. "But I'm also considering going back to Afghanistan. That's a 50-50 proposition right now. I have to see how these next couple of months go, and I will just go with the flow and do what I have to do."