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Oregon Road Conditions & Cams Email Story to a Friend October 19, 2005 Oregon Army National Guard Staff Sgt. Doug Jackson of Eagle Point takes a break from his job logging in the Illinois Valley on Tuesday to talk about the firefight in Iraq that earned him a Bronze Star, the fourth-highest decoration in the U.S. military. Mail Tribune / Bob Pennell Bronze star soldier Army National Guardsman Doug Jackson of Eagle Point earns the medal for leadership during a fierce ambush near Sadr City, Iraq By PARIS ACHEN Mail Tribune When Oregon Army National Guard troops stationed in Iraq heard reports of insurgents planning an attack near Sadr City, Staff Sgt. Doug Jackson of Eagle Point and his platoon were sent to investigate. Led by Jackson, the 26 soldiers drove their Humvees straight into an ambush. Seventeen hours later, they emerged shell-shocked but victorious with a few U.S. soldiers slightly injured, Jackson said. About 200 insurgents were dead, he said. "It was the longest and most intense battle we had in Iraq," he said. Jackson’s composed leadership and his platoon’s success under dire circumstances in the August 2004 battle won him the Bronze Star Medal Saturday at a ceremony in Albany. Advertisement Authorized in 1944, the Bronze Star Medal, the fourth-highest U.S. military decoration, is awarded for heroic combat or meritorious achievement of service against an opposing armed force. The Oregon National Guard failed to notify Jackson of the award and the ceremony, he said. "I was out elk hunting," said Jackson, 28, a logger when he’s not serving with the Guard. "When I got back on Sunday, I had 13 voice-mail and text messages. Everybody wanted to know what was going on. I was supposed to be in Albany, and I wasn’t." Sgt. Clayton Jones, a spokesman for the Oregon National Guard, said he was uncertain why Jackson was not told about the ceremony. "I don’t know where the communication broke down," Jones said. Jackson, who belongs to the Ashland-based 1st Battalion of the 186th Infantry of the Oregon National Guard, was attached to the Eugene-based 2nd Battalion of the 162nd Infantry during his service in Baghdad from April 8 to Oct. 14, 2004. As Jackson drove toward a power plant near Sadr City Aug. 5, 2004, he said he knew his platoon was in danger by the placement of rocks and tires on the road — insurgents’ way of warning residents they were planning an attack. "When we got to the tires, we saw all the civilians running, and that’s when we started taking fire," he said. The troops were surrounded by insurgents, emerging out of alleyways, launching explosives out of vehicles and sniping from rooftops, he said. Jackson directed his troops to return fire and break through the ambush. He set up defense positions with the platoon’s six Humvees in the road. "Once we set up defense positions, we got out of the vehicles and started shooting and engaging the enemy," Jackson said. "I was going from vehicle to vehicle, giving instructions," Jackson said. In between directing the troops, keeping the command center informed and requesting supplies, Jackson took shots at insurgents. "He led from example," said Sgt. Craig Coggins of Medford. "He was out there. He wasn’t hiding in a vehicle." The soldiers fought the insurgents without support for nearly two hours before the command center sent in two more platoons of about 50 soldiers and more ammunition. "Staff Sgt. Jackson saved his platoon," said First Lt. Mark Tobin of Ashland, who was in the command center during the battle. "It could have turned out really bad if he had panicked or not recognized the ambush for what it was and not made a quick decision to push through. "He turned an ambush into an attack on the insurgents." Jackson credited his success during the battle to the performance of his troops and has nominated some of them for Bronze Star Medals, which they have not yet received. One of them was Spc. Patrick Silva of Medford, who shot 16 vehicles full of insurgents, he said. "To get the award is a really big honor," Jackson said. "I never thought I would get it. When you do your job, you don’t expect anything." Jackson served in the Sinai, Egypt, for six months in 2002 and in Louisiana in September to provide security in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina. His mother, 47-year-old Victoria "Tori" Reynolds, died of ovarian cancer on the day he was called to duty in Louisiana. He listened to her memorial service over a cellular phone from the 186th Infantry’s headquarters in New Orleans. To spare his mother from worry, Jackson said he chose not to tell her about the firefight in Sadr City, but she eventually heard the story from others. "Mother said she was proud of me," he said. Reach reporter Paris Achen at 776-4496 or e-mail Bronze star soldier ">[email protected] . 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