US civilian heroes in Iraq and Afghanistan

Washington Post:

Natalie Sudman, a project manager for the Army Corps of Engineers, had been in southern Iraq for 15 months when a roadside bomb exploded as her convoy returned from an inspection of water treatment plants and a new road.

She survived the October attack but was seriously injured. The explosion broke bones in her face, and she will undergo a year of treatment by eye doctors, who have assured her that her sight will return as the damaged retina in her left eye heals.

"I went over there because I felt like I wanted to be part of something that was helping people," Sudman said yesterday. "And on an individual level, a one-to-one level, with the Iraqis I worked with, I really did feel that is what we were doing."

Sudman was one of 15 Defense Department civilians honored yesterday with the Secretary of Defense Medal for the Global War on Terrorism, the first time the medal has been presented. Deputy Defense Secretary Gordon R. England presented the medals to the Defense civilians at a Pentagon ceremony.

More than 16,000 Defense civilians have served overseas in the fight against terrorism since 2001. They included intelligence analysts, business and economic experts, logistical specialists, auditors and others eager to support the military and the Iraqi government.

Of the 16,000, 118 have been injured and seven "have given their lives," David S.C. Chu, the undersecretary of defense for personnel and readiness, told the invited guests.

...

The deserve the recognition. What they do requires a great deal of courage and it is helping us defeat the enemy.

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