Previously Held NEC OS-0000-Operations Specialist
OS-0342-Navy Tactical Command System Afloat (NTCS-A Operator
Service Years
2002 - 2023
Official/Unofficial US Navy Certificates
Decommissioning
Operation Enduring Freedom
Operation Iraqi Freedom
Order of the Dirt Sailor
Order of the Ditch
Order of the Magellan
Order of the Shellback
Panama Canal
Sailor of the Quarter
Official Badges
Unofficial Badges
Operation Oaken Steel (South Sudan)
From Month/Year
June / 2016
To Month/Year
January / 2017
Description Service members deployed to the land area, territorial waters out to 12 nautical miles, and the air space of: South Sudan, Republic of Djibouti, and Uganda from 12 June 2016 to 26 January 2017.
The United States ordered non-essential personnel to leave its Juba, South Sudan, embassy Monday as violent clashes overtook the city.
Forces loyal to South Sudanese President Salva Kiir engaged in gun battles with those allied with Vice President Riek Machar since Thursday, forcing residents to seek shelter at a nearby U.N. compound caught in the crossfire. The intensity of the violence increased Sunday. The two fighting factions have unsuccessfully attempted to implement a power-sharing arrangement since 2014.
A U.S. embassy announcement said, "To be clear, this is as reduction in staff, not an evacuation," advising U.S. citizens in South Sudan to "shelter in a safe location ... and avoid non-essential movements."
Sunday the U.S. State Department referred to a "sudden and serious deterioration" in the conflict, as heavy fighting broke out near a U.N. building. The International Committee of the Red Cross said all its activities in the city were suspended Friday.
A U.N. statement said Chinese and Rwandan troops were victims of attacks, and Chinese state media said two Chinese peacekeepers were killed when their armored vehicle was struck by a mortar shell Sunday. One died immediately, and the other several hours later, China Central Television reported; five others were injured.
Another Chinese peacekeeper was killed several weeks ago in South Sudan as China increased its presence in the country.
At least 10,000 people have been displaced by the violence, said Matilda Moyo of the U.N. Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs in Juba. A World Food Program spokesman said a shelter at its compound, also near the fighting and prepared to hold 100 people, now contains about 3,000.
Helicopter gunships were seen flying above Juba as government tanks rolled through the city. Juba's airport was closed, and Kenya Airlines announced it suspended service to the city due to the "uncertain security situation." While no official death count has been announced, estimates of 150 to 270 people killed in the fighting were reported.
