Marine Raider receives Silver Star after single-handedly stopping an ISIS suicide vehicle

A Marine Raider has been awarded the Silver Star after braving intense enemy fire and destroying an incoming vehicle-born improvised explosive device (VBIED) in Iraq. The Raider, whose name has been withheld for operational security (OPSEC) reasons (he is still on active duty), was assigned to the 2^nd Marine Raider Battalion (MRB), Marine Special Operations Command (MARSOC).

According to the Marine Corps Times, the action took place on October 20, 2016, during the campaign to liberate Mosul from the Islamic State (ISIS) as part of Operation Inherent Resolve. At the time, the Raider was a staff sergeant (E-6) serving as the assistant element leader in his Marine Special Operations Team (MSOT). The MARSOC team had occupied a building situated between two ISIS-controlled villages at the outskirts of Mosul. Recognizing the danger of having a team of American commandos so close to their positions—the threat of airstrikes, which MARSOC units can call in, is ever present on the minds of terrorists in the region—the jihadis launched an attack to drive the Marine Raiders out.