Lakewood, WA – Today, Congresswoman Marilyn Strickland (WA-10) presented Mr. Joseph Soel, Ret. U.S. Army with the Department of the Army Combat Action Badge (CAB). Soel received the CAB for his courageous actions while serving with the 962nd Ordinance Company, Contingency Operating Base (COB) Adder, Talil Air Force Base, Iraq, on May 17, 2008.
“Through his dedication and commitment to our nation, it is clear that Joseph Soel is the personification of courage and selflessness,” said Strickland. “This Combat Action Badge is well-deserved, and I could not be prouder recognizing such an upstanding member of the South Sound community.”
The CAB is awarded in special recognition to soldiers who personally engage and/or who satisfactorily perform their duties while being engaged in ground combat. In the 2008 COB Adder attack, Soel searched for missing soldiers, performing rescue and medical duties as needed while rockets struck the area. Following the “all-clear”, the 962nd Platoon leadership reported no casualties and 100% accountability of all 44 Soldiers.
“Receiving this award is a validation of what my unit, the 962nd Ordnance Company, went through in Iraq. The award of the combat action badge means the world to me,” said Mr. Joeseph Soel. “I have memorialized my unit’s actions in my book The Broken Mirror of Memory: Iraq and OtherTales. I was proud to have served with such fine soldiers. I now pray and work for peace on the earth. May we beat our swords into plowshares, and not learn war anymore.”
Soel Short served as an Ammunition Specialist from 2006-2014. Now retired from the U.S. Army, Soel has impacted the South Sound community through a myriad of ways including serving as an educator for the North Thurston School District and acting as a Veterans Advocate for the American Legion, the nation’s largest wartime veterans service organization.
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