IRAQ National Guard unit is commended for aiding missionaries after attack

HERMITAGE, Pa. -- A local National Guard unit has earned praise for its professionalism and quick thinking in aiding a group of missionaries attacked in Mosul, Iraq.
The 3rd Stryker Brigade Combat Team surgeon and the brigade provost marshal commended Company A of the 107th Field Artillery for its actions, according to a March 21 dispatch from Staff Sgt. Joseph Kulnis, public affairs officer with the unit.
Company A is headquartered in Hermitage and has been converted to a military police unit for its service in Iraq.
The 124-member unit was activated in December and arrived in Iraq earlier this month, anticipating a one-year tour of duty in that country.
Kulnis said a small convoy of missionaries was traveling through Mosul on a humanitarian mission when terrorists attacked their vehicles.
Two of the missionaries were critically wounded and transported to a local hospital and coalition forces were notified.
Kulnis said patrols from Company A were dispatched to the hospital to assess the situation and provide security for the wounded U.S. citizens. Upon arrival, it was determined that both of the casualties needed to be evacuated via military helicopter to the nearest combat support hospital.
The company called for a helicopter and a second MP patrol from the 107th was dispatched to secure a landing zone for the Army Blackhawk helicopter near the hospital, Kulnis said.