Soldiers assigned to the U.S. Army\u2019s Capability Program Executive Simulation, Training, Test and Threat (CPE ST3) along with local Sailors and Marines honored the legacy of Medal of Honor (MOH) recipient Army Staff Sgt. Robert J. Miller and his parents, Phil and Maureen Miller, during a ceremony following morning colors on April 29 on board Naval Support Activity (NSA) Orlando.<\/p>\n
The weekly ceremony brings together military and civilian personnel from units located on board NSA Orlando and the surrounding area including CPE ST3 to honor MOH recipients throughout history and disseminate important Team Orlando information.<\/p>\n
This week\u2019s event was hosted by the CPE ST3 staff and personalized with remarks by Miller\u2019s parents as well as a former Soldier who had served with Miller during Operation Enduring Freedom at the time of the heroic action which resulted in his death.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe have some very special guests with us here today,\u201d said Army Lt. Col. Leonardo Abreu, live training systems program officer for CPE ST3 Project Manager Training Devices (PM TRADE). \u201cI understand the value of family. They provide a foundation long before the acts of heroism actually take place. We think about the selflessness, the integrity, the courage, the bravery. These are all things that are taught at home. Thank you for the support and the sacrifices you\u2019ve made.\u201d<\/p>\n
Miller, a special forces weapons sergeant with Operational Detachment Alpha 3312, was posthumously awarded the Medal of Honor on October 6, 2010, for his actions during a mission in Konar Province, Afghanistan, during Operation Enduring Freedom.<\/p>\n
The valor Miller exhibited on January 25, 2008, when he deliberately and repeatedly exposed himself to enemy fire to protect his teammates, was recognized as gallantry above and beyond the call of duty. According to the MOH citation, his actions saved the lives of seven members of his team and 15 Afghan National Army soldiers.<\/p>\n
\u201cOur family has a strong history with the Army, on Phil\u2019s side, going back to the Revolutionary War. He [Robert] went into the Army, and it was a great fit for him,\u201d Maureen Miller told the group about her son. \u201cHe was on his second tour of duty in Afghanistan when he was killed. We were very proud of him and happy that we\u2019ve gotten to meet so many wonderful people because of Rob.\u201d<\/p>\n
Staff Sgt. Miller\u2019s father, Phil, described his son as living his dream in the Army and serving in a role that he was just perfectly cut out for.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt harnessed his energy and ambition in the best way possible,\u201d Phil Miller told the group. \u201cBy the way, the work that you all do here in training the troops that are getting ready to go out there is greatly appreciated.\u201d<\/p>\n
Retired Army Sgt. 1st Class Javier Mackey, a contractor with PM TRADE at CPE STE who served with Miller during Operation Enduring Freedom in Afghanistan, also spoke during the recognition ceremony.<\/p>\n
\u201cStaff Sgt. Miller was one of America\u2019s best, he was one of the few who earned the green beret,\u201d Mackey said. \u201cOn that rocky mountainside, he made the ultimate sacrifice, killing dozens of enemy combatants while protecting his team.\u201d<\/p>\n
Mackey provided a first-hand account of Miller\u2019s actions that day and addressed his parents directly.<\/p>\n
\u201cPhil and Maureen, as you know, I fought alongside your son into those final moments. You know the burden I carry from that day, just as I recognize the depth of your loss,\u201d Mackey said. \u201cI\u2019m forever grateful for the love that you\u2019ve shown to the men of Operational Detachment Alpha 3312.\u201d<\/p>\n
Mackey also talked about how the military training and simulation community in Orlando directly helps warfighters and increases readiness.<\/p>\n
\u201cOur team of material developers here helps create these types of heroes. The instrumentations and simulations that we develop serve a purpose,\u201d said Mackey. \u201cLet us continue to do our best to keep this force ready for anything to protect our great nation.\u201d<\/p>\n
Headquartered in Orlando, Florida, CPE ST3 is comprised of a highly skilled and diverse workforce of 980 Soldiers, Army civilians and contractors, who work with Army partners to enhance operational readiness and support the Army\u2019s modernization efforts by fielding and sustaining the next generation of multi-domain operations testing, training and information operations capabilities. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Soldiers assigned to the U.S. Army\u2019s Capability Program Executive Simulation, Training, Test and Threat (CPE ST3) along with…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":253190,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[11],"tags":[139,141,140],"class_list":["post-253189","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-orlando","tag-orlando","tag-orlando-headlines","tag-orlando-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/253189","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=253189"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/253189\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/253190"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=253189"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=253189"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=253189"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}