1. NARRATIVE TO ACCOMPANY THE AWARD OF
THE BRONZE START MEDAL
TO
COMMAND SERGEANT MAJOR RICHARD B. MORGAN
Command Sergeant Major Richard B. Morgan, United States Army, distinguished himself by
exceptionally merito~ious service to the United States as the Battalion Command Sergeant
Major, Task Force 146, 25th Infantry Division, Multi-National Division-North, from 18 August
2008 to 31 July 2009 during OPERATION IRAQI FREEDOM.
During this period, Command Sergeant Major Morgan served as the senior noncommissioned
officer overseeing the mobilization and deployment of a field artillery battalion. Upon
mobilization, the unit assumed a directed mission to perform convoy security, base defense, and
base support, along with the command and control of an attached company (-) of military police
from the Texas Army National Guard. During this transition, Command Sergeant Major Morgan
provided the guidance, vision, and NCO mentorship to build a cohesive, mission-focused
element that performed all assigned tasks flawlessly in support ofMND-N. Immediately upon
assuming authority on FOB Marez from the 1-163 FA, INARNG, Cpmmand Sergeant Major
Morgan assessed all base support operations and began implementing a streamlined process for
directing FOB resources and contracted servi~es to tenant units for basic life support and position
area improvement. His expertise in Department ofthe Army contracting:procedures was
instrumental in maintaining a balance between providing basic life support for a FOB population
which exceeded 15,000 tenants during a BCT Reliefln Place and the obligations ofthe more
than 4,000 contract workers providing services on the FOB. Command Sergea~t Major Morgan
audited contracts in painstaking detail to ensure all guidelines were met and the ful1 scope of
compulsory service was rendered for the benefit of the FOB. He established and led an
organization of tenant unit senior enlisted that served as the sounding board for establishing
FOB-wide policies and procedures that evolved into an effective team that addressed all life
support issues on the FOB and developed creative solutions using FOB-wide resources to
support them. Command Sergeant Major Morgan also used his contracting expertise to provide
the Base Defense Operations Center with effective oversight on key projects to include a
complete redesign of the Movement Control Team Inspection Yard that provided a segregated
isolation area for cargo arriving from offthe FOB while simultaneously deconflicting cross-base
traffic which eliminated a significant vulnerability along a key avenue of approach to the FOB.
Command Sergeant Major Morgan was very effective in providing support to the Base Defense
Operations Center by drawing on his extensive understanding of available resources and
capabilities of both military and contracted assets on the FOB, and streamlining support
packages that were both responsive and effective and solved problems quickly. Command
sergeant Major Morgan's primary focus never wavered from base defense but he went
completely out ofhis lane often to ensure base support was the priority of vendors and
contractors in all areas they were able to effect. As a result of his influence, tenants and residents
of FOB Marez benefitted from increased levels of life support and an increased force protection
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posture and the changes he made will have a lasting influence on all units and individuals
assigned to this base.
Command Sergeant Major Morgan's actions are in keeping with the finest traditions of military
service and reflect distinct credit upon himself, Task Force 146, 251
h Infantry Division, Multi-
National Division-North and the United States Army.
His actions are in keeping with the finest traditions of military service and reflect distinct credit
upon himself, Multi-National Division-North, and the United States Army.
