{"id":32120,"date":"2019-07-19T17:38:35","date_gmt":"2019-07-19T17:38:35","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/armytimes\/uncategorized\/2019\/07\/19\/silver-star-for-combat-controller-who-rallied-his-team-during-insider-attack\/"},"modified":"2026-08-07T21:04:44","modified_gmt":"2026-08-07T21:04:44","slug":"silver-star-for-combat-controller-who-rallied-his-team-during-insider-attack","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/armytimes\/news\/your-army\/2019\/07\/19\/silver-star-for-combat-controller-who-rallied-his-team-during-insider-attack\/","title":{"rendered":"Silver Star for combat controller who rallied his team during insider attack"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">A combat controller with the 350th Special Warfare Training Squadron at Joint Base San Antonio-Lackland in Texas received the Silver Star Thursday for his heroism during a rapid, intense, green-on-blue insider attack in Afghanistan in 2018.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Technical Sgt. Michael Perolio, who is now an assessment and selection instructor at Lackland, quickly took charge and rallied his teammates after an ambush erupted in a village in Nangarhar province Jan. 11, 2018. He swiftly organized fields of fire, called in airstrikes and rendered aid to his wounded comrades \u2014 all while repeatedly exposing himself to heavy machine-gun fire \u2014 as he hurried his team out of the kill zone and back to their camp.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cPerolio saved my life and the lives of several of my guys,\u201d said Army Capt. William Clark, the ground force commander for the team, said in a release. Clark was severely wounded in the ambush.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cHis actions ensured that we were able to make it home. He is a phenomenal joint terminal attack controller, a great friend and someone I consider a brother. I honestly can\u2019t thank him enough for what he did.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Perolio was the JTAC for a team of Army Green Berets with Special Forces Operational Detachment Alpha 0221, which partnered with the Afghan 8th Special Operations Kandak Commandos in Mohmand valley in Nangarhar\u2019s Achin district.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The unit had an ongoing operation to clear the valley there, Perolio said in a Wednesday interview with reporters.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"6276\" height=\"4184\" src=\"\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/Perolio-Silver-Star-2.jpg.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-65546\" srcset=\"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/Perolio-Silver-Star-2.jpg.jpg 6276w, https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/Perolio-Silver-Star-2.jpg.jpg?resize=300,200 300w, https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/Perolio-Silver-Star-2.jpg.jpg?resize=768,512 768w, https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/Perolio-Silver-Star-2.jpg.jpg?resize=1024,683 1024w, https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/Perolio-Silver-Star-2.jpg.jpg?resize=1536,1024 1536w, https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/Perolio-Silver-Star-2.jpg.jpg?resize=2048,1365 2048w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 6276px) 100vw, 6276px\" \/><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Lt. Gen. Brad Webb, incoming commander for Air Education and Training Command, presents the Silver Star to Technical Sgt. Michael Perolio from the Special Warfare Training Wing, during a ceremony at Joint Base San Antonio-Lackland\u2019s Gateway Club July 18, 2019. (Sarayuth Pinthong\/Air Force)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">As they pushed deeper into the valley from their small outpost, they began working with a group informally called the People\u2019s Uprising Militia. Complicating matters, some of those valley residents were former Taliban who were opposed to the Islamic State of Iraq and ash-Sham-Khorosan, or ISIS-Khorosan, which had invaded their territory.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The militia was intended to be the \u201chold force\u201d after Americans cleared out territory, to allow civilian Afghans to return to the villages and keep ISIS at bay.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">On the day of the battle, Perolio volunteered to be part of a five-man team to head out to a nearby village and meet and build a relationship with the elder there, who was essentially a sub-commander for the People\u2019s Uprising Militia. The team, which consisted of Perolio, Clark, another Green Beret, their Afghan interpreter Ali and an Afghan regional commander for the militia guiding them through the checkpoints, set out in a light unarmored all-terrain vehicle.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">They met with the village elder to discuss what the Afghans needed and what they planned to do to push ISIS back.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cEverything seemed pretty normal as we were loading up in the vehicle [and] saying goodbye,\u201d Perolio said. \u201cAs soon as Captain Clark turned the vehicle on and was trying to shift into gear, they opened up on us with a PKM machine gun.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The entire vehicle was riddled with PKM rounds from a building to their left, 50 meters away, and the team spilled out the vehicle\u2019s right-hand side to take cover. Clark was immediately shot twice, in his abdomen and leg, and the two Afghans were also shot. The interpreter was shot three times in his leg, and the militia commander was shot through his femoral artery. He quickly bled out and died.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The remaining members of the team quickly tried to figure out what had happened. Clark said he initially thought the fire was coming from higher ground, not the building.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">At first, they thought an ISIS team had snuck into the area, but then soon realized the reality was much worse.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cWe didn\u2019t realize it was our militia buddies who had turned on us,\u201d Perolio said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The fire was overwhelming, but Perolio took charge right away and rendered aid to his wounded comrades. Though Clark was severely wounded, Perolio re-armed and rallied his ground force commander to cover the south.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cHey, I need you to watch this way,\u201d he told Clark. \u201cI know you\u2019re messed up, but I don\u2019t know what\u2019s coming that way.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"5000\" height=\"3000\" src=\"\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/Perolio-background.jpg.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-65548\" srcset=\"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/Perolio-background.jpg.jpg 5000w, https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/Perolio-background.jpg.jpg?resize=300,180 300w, https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/Perolio-background.jpg.jpg?resize=768,461 768w, https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/Perolio-background.jpg.jpg?resize=1024,614 1024w, https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/Perolio-background.jpg.jpg?resize=1536,922 1536w, https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/Perolio-background.jpg.jpg?resize=2048,1229 2048w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 5000px) 100vw, 5000px\" \/><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Technical Sgt. Michael Perolio (Air Force)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\t<aside class=\"smg-interstitial-link wp-block-smg-interstitial-link\">\n\t\t<a href=\"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/airforcetimes\/news\/your-air-force\/2019\/04\/10\/danger-close-tacp-receives-silver-star-after-calling-in-airstrikes-braving-enemy-fire-during-afghanistan-ambush\/\" class=\"smg-interstitial-link__inner\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"smg-interstitial-link__media\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"300\" height=\"177\" src=\"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/Screen-Shot-2019-04-03-at-10.30.48.png.png?w=300\" class=\"smg-interstitial-link__image wp-post-image\" alt=\"\" \/>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"smg-interstitial-link__content\">\n\t\t\t\t<span class=\"smg-interstitial-link__kicker\">Related<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t<h3 class=\"smg-interstitial-link__title\">\u2018Danger close\u2019: TACP receives Silver Star after calling in airstrikes, braving enemy fire during Afghanistan ambush<\/h3>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p class=\"smg-interstitial-link__excerpt\">On April 25, 2018, Tech Sgt. Cam Kelsch and a mix of Rangers and Afghan special forces were dispatched to find a high-value target in enemy-held territory.<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/a>\n\t<\/aside>\n\t\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Perolio directed the other Green Beret, who was not wounded, to cover their backs to the north while he assessed the situation. They all tried to patch each other up as best they could, with Clark applying a tourniquet to Ali\u2019s shot-up leg, while he himself was wounded.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Perolio got on the radio to aircraft flying overhead to get their sensors and targeting pods on the area, and called back to their base to get the medical staff ready for incoming casualties.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">They piled back into the vehicle and got out of there as quickly as possible. They hooked up with a quick reaction force, and gave its chief warrant officer \u2014 who had now effectively taken Clark\u2019s place as the operation\u2019s ground force commander \u2014 the situation. Perolio got the OK to call in F-16 airstrikes on the building where the ambush was launched, destroying 12 now-enemies and their machine gun nest with four 500-pound bombs, as well as another bomb that airburst.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">They floored it the four kilometers back to base and rushed Clark into surgery, where his chest was opened up and he was stabilized, and the medical team stopped Ali\u2019s bleeding. They were then medevaced back to Bagram Air Base for more in-depth care, and Clark was later flown to Germany for more treatment, where he woke up four days later.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The entire battle and return to base happened very quickly, in about 15 minutes. Clark said the 10-minute drive over extremely rugged roads back felt much longer. In a sign of how fast they were going, Clark said that drive typically took 25 minutes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">But a part of that militia had severely betrayed the Americans, and that had to be addressed. Perolio said that shortly after getting Clark and Ali safe, American troops and their Afghan partners went back out to all the People\u2019s Uprising Militia checkpoints in the valley.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The Afghan commandos took all the weapons and equipment from the militia members and took them out of the valley \u201cuntil we could figure out what the next step was, and if we could utilize them again, or if we had to worry about more insider attacks happening,\u201d Perolio said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">In the fallout from that ambush, Perolio said, there were rumors that some Afghans wanted retribution, so the U.S. camp ramped up its security for a while. Fortunately, he said, they had a good relationship with the Afghan commandos with whom they had trained, lived and partnered. The commandos had the Americans\u2019 backs, and helped bridge that gap.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">In a series of meetings with the militia afterwards \u201cwe were able to come to terms and help them get back into the valley,\u201d Perolio said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Clark is glad Perolio is being recognized with the Silver Star for what he did that day, under horrible circumstances.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cIt\u2019s pretty outstanding to be able to see him get something like this, and for him to get the recognition that he deserves,\u201d Clark said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Perolio has deployed three times to Afghanistan, and once to Iraq. This deployment lasted from October 2017 to March 2018.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Perolio has long looked up to combat controllers who were honored for their bravery with Silver Stars.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cIt\u2019s super humbling to be able to say that I\u2019m a part of that now,\u201d Perolio said. \u201cBut I also know there\u2019s a ton of guys out there, and guys still out there, doing the combat control mission and the Green Beret mission, going through some similar situations, who may or may not get that recognition. It\u2019s not lost on me how special that is.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>&#8220;Perolio saved my life,&#8221; said the team&#8217;s wounded commander, a Green Beret. &#8220;He is &#8230; someone I consider a brother.&#8221;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":7,"featured_media":43068,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_yoast_wpseo_meta-robots-noindex":"","_yoast_wpseo_meta-robots-nofollow":"","_yoast_wpseo_canonical":"","_acf":"","_yoast_wpseo_primary_category":70,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","_smg_distribution_targets":[]},"categories":[100,23,92,12,25,70],"tags":[],"coauthors":[3355],"class_list":["post-32120","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-daily-news-roundup","category-home","category-left-column","category-news","category-newsletters","category-your-army"],"acf":{"subheadline":"","legacy_arc_id":"G2I7AP3OJZDWXBF5ATO6E53PAE","arc_canonical_url":"\/news\/your-air-force\/2019\/07\/19\/silver-star-for-combat-controller-who-rallied-his-team-during-insider-attack\/","remove_feature_photo":false,"is_sponsored":false,"subtype":"","redirect_url":"","disable_inline_ads":false,"native_logo_pretext":"Presented By:"},"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO Premium plugin v26.0 (Yoast SEO v28.1) - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-premium-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Silver Star for combat controller who rallied his team during insider attack - Army Times<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"&quot;Perolio saved my life,&quot; said the team&#039;s wounded commander, a Green Beret. &quot;He is ... someone I consider a brother.&quot;\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"noindex, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Silver Star for combat controller who rallied his team during insider attack\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"&quot;Perolio saved my life,&quot; said the team&#039;s wounded commander, a Green Beret. &quot;He is ... someone I consider a brother.&quot;\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/armytimes\/news\/your-army\/2019\/07\/19\/silver-star-for-combat-controller-who-rallied-his-team-during-insider-attack\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Army Times\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2019-07-19T17:38:35+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2026-08-07T21:04:44+00:00\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Stephen Losey\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Stephen Losey\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"7 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\n\t    \"@context\": \"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\n\t    \"@graph\": [\n\t        {\n\t            \"@type\": \"Article\",\n\t            \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/armytimes\\\/news\\\/your-army\\\/2019\\\/07\\\/19\\\/silver-star-for-combat-controller-who-rallied-his-team-during-insider-attack\\\/#article\",\n\t            \"isPartOf\": {\n\t                \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/armytimes\\\/news\\\/your-army\\\/2019\\\/07\\\/19\\\/silver-star-for-combat-controller-who-rallied-his-team-during-insider-attack\\\/\"\n\t            },\n\t            \"author\": {\n\t                \"name\": \"migration\",\n\t                \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/armytimes\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/cc76c831bb37a926738c8391fca7a3b1\"\n\t            },\n\t            \"headline\": \"Silver Star for combat controller who rallied his team during insider attack\",\n\t            \"datePublished\": \"2019-07-19T17:38:35+00:00\",\n\t            \"dateModified\": \"2026-08-07T21:04:44+00:00\",\n\t            \"mainEntityOfPage\": {\n\t                \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/armytimes\\\/news\\\/your-army\\\/2019\\\/07\\\/19\\\/silver-star-for-combat-controller-who-rallied-his-team-during-insider-attack\\\/\"\n\t            },\n\t            \"wordCount\": 1317,\n\t            \"commentCount\": 0,\n\t            \"publisher\": {\n\t                \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/armytimes\\\/#organization\"\n\t            },\n\t            \"image\": {\n\t                \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/armytimes\\\/news\\\/your-army\\\/2019\\\/07\\\/19\\\/silver-star-for-combat-controller-who-rallied-his-team-during-insider-attack\\\/#primaryimage\"\n\t            },\n\t            \"thumbnailUrl\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/08\\\/Perolio_DeployedPhoto.jpg.jpg\",\n\t            \"articleSection\": [\n\t                \"Daily News Roundup\",\n\t                \"Home\",\n\t                \"Left Column\",\n\t                \"News\",\n\t                \"Newsletters\",\n\t                \"Your Army\"\n\t            ],\n\t            \"inLanguage\": \"en-US\",\n\t            \"potentialAction\": [\n\t                {\n\t                    \"@type\": \"CommentAction\",\n\t                    \"name\": \"Comment\",\n\t                    \"target\": [\n\t                        \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/armytimes\\\/news\\\/your-army\\\/2019\\\/07\\\/19\\\/silver-star-for-combat-controller-who-rallied-his-team-during-insider-attack\\\/#respond\"\n\t                    ]\n\t                }\n\t            ]\n\t        },\n\t        {\n\t            \"@type\": \"WebPage\",\n\t            \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/armytimes\\\/news\\\/your-army\\\/2019\\\/07\\\/19\\\/silver-star-for-combat-controller-who-rallied-his-team-during-insider-attack\\\/\",\n\t            \"url\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/armytimes\\\/news\\\/your-army\\\/2019\\\/07\\\/19\\\/silver-star-for-combat-controller-who-rallied-his-team-during-insider-attack\\\/\",\n\t            \"name\": \"Silver Star for combat controller who rallied his team during insider attack - Army Times\",\n\t            \"isPartOf\": {\n\t                \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/armytimes\\\/#website\"\n\t            },\n\t            \"primaryImageOfPage\": {\n\t                \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/armytimes\\\/news\\\/your-army\\\/2019\\\/07\\\/19\\\/silver-star-for-combat-controller-who-rallied-his-team-during-insider-attack\\\/#primaryimage\"\n\t            },\n\t            \"image\": {\n\t                \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/armytimes\\\/news\\\/your-army\\\/2019\\\/07\\\/19\\\/silver-star-for-combat-controller-who-rallied-his-team-during-insider-attack\\\/#primaryimage\"\n\t            },\n\t            \"thumbnailUrl\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/08\\\/Perolio_DeployedPhoto.jpg.jpg\",\n\t            \"datePublished\": \"2019-07-19T17:38:35+00:00\",\n\t            \"dateModified\": \"2026-08-07T21:04:44+00:00\",\n\t            \"description\": \"\\\"Perolio saved my life,\\\" said the team's wounded commander, a Green Beret. \\\"He is ... someone I consider a brother.\\\"\",\n\t            \"breadcrumb\": {\n\t                \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/armytimes\\\/news\\\/your-army\\\/2019\\\/07\\\/19\\\/silver-star-for-combat-controller-who-rallied-his-team-during-insider-attack\\\/#breadcrumb\"\n\t            },\n\t            \"inLanguage\": \"en-US\",\n\t            \"potentialAction\": [\n\t                {\n\t                    \"@type\": \"ReadAction\",\n\t                    \"target\": [\n\t                        \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/armytimes\\\/news\\\/your-army\\\/2019\\\/07\\\/19\\\/silver-star-for-combat-controller-who-rallied-his-team-during-insider-attack\\\/\"\n\t                    ]\n\t                }\n\t            ]\n\t        },\n\t        {\n\t            \"@type\": \"ImageObject\",\n\t            \"inLanguage\": \"en-US\",\n\t            \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/armytimes\\\/news\\\/your-army\\\/2019\\\/07\\\/19\\\/silver-star-for-combat-controller-who-rallied-his-team-during-insider-attack\\\/#primaryimage\",\n\t            \"url\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/08\\\/Perolio_DeployedPhoto.jpg.jpg\",\n\t            \"contentUrl\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/08\\\/Perolio_DeployedPhoto.jpg.jpg\"\n\t        },\n\t        {\n\t            \"@type\": \"BreadcrumbList\",\n\t            \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/armytimes\\\/news\\\/your-army\\\/2019\\\/07\\\/19\\\/silver-star-for-combat-controller-who-rallied-his-team-during-insider-attack\\\/#breadcrumb\",\n\t            \"itemListElement\": [\n\t                {\n\t                    \"@type\": \"ListItem\",\n\t                    \"position\": 1,\n\t                    \"name\": \"Home\",\n\t                    \"item\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/armytimes\\\/\",\n\t                    \"ad_zone\": \"home\"\n\t                },\n\t                {\n\t                    \"@type\": \"ListItem\",\n\t                    \"position\": 2,\n\t                    \"name\": \"News\",\n\t                    \"item\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/armytimes\\\/news\\\/\",\n\t                    \"ad_zone\": \"news\"\n\t                },\n\t                {\n\t                    \"@type\": \"ListItem\",\n\t                    \"position\": 3,\n\t                    \"name\": \"Your Army\",\n\t                    \"item\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/armytimes\\\/news\\\/your-army\\\/\",\n\t                    \"ad_zone\": \"your-army\"\n\t                },\n\t                {\n\t                    \"@type\": \"ListItem\",\n\t                    \"position\": 4,\n\t                    \"name\": \"Silver Star for combat controller who rallied his team during insider attack\"\n\t                }\n\t            ]\n\t        },\n\t        {\n\t            \"@type\": \"WebSite\",\n\t            \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/armytimes\\\/#website\",\n\t            \"url\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/armytimes\\\/\",\n\t            \"name\": \"Army Times\",\n\t            \"description\": \"Independent News For Soldiers | Army Times\",\n\t            \"publisher\": {\n\t                \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/armytimes\\\/#organization\"\n\t            },\n\t            \"potentialAction\": [\n\t                {\n\t                    \"@type\": \"SearchAction\",\n\t                    \"target\": {\n\t                        \"@type\": \"EntryPoint\",\n\t                        \"urlTemplate\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/armytimes\\\/?s={search_term_string}\"\n\t                    },\n\t                    \"query-input\": {\n\t                        \"@type\": \"PropertyValueSpecification\",\n\t                        \"valueRequired\": true,\n\t                        \"valueName\": \"search_term_string\"\n\t                    }\n\t                }\n\t            ],\n\t            \"inLanguage\": \"en-US\"\n\t        },\n\t        {\n\t            \"@type\": \"Organization\",\n\t            \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/armytimes\\\/#organization\",\n\t            \"name\": \"Army Times\",\n\t            \"url\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/armytimes\\\/\",\n\t            \"logo\": {\n\t                \"@type\": \"ImageObject\",\n\t                \"inLanguage\": \"en-US\",\n\t                \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/armytimes\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/logo\\\/image\\\/\",\n\t                \"url\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/06\\\/army-logo-white.png\",\n\t                \"contentUrl\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/06\\\/army-logo-white.png\",\n\t                \"caption\": \"Army Times\"\n\t            },\n\t            \"image\": {\n\t                \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/armytimes\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/logo\\\/image\\\/\"\n\t            }\n\t        },\n\t        {\n\t            \"@type\": \"Person\",\n\t            \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/armytimes\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/cc76c831bb37a926738c8391fca7a3b1\",\n\t            \"name\": \"migration\",\n\t            \"image\": {\n\t                \"@type\": \"ImageObject\",\n\t                \"inLanguage\": \"en-US\",\n\t                \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/9e8d47be443ce94ce7fc357677b5f9c70235bb1f59e7267a102a74af58c04f59?s=96&d=mm&r=gcf4cb6ee0ec29e49e7a963234e4340ec\",\n\t                \"url\": \"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/9e8d47be443ce94ce7fc357677b5f9c70235bb1f59e7267a102a74af58c04f59?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\n\t                \"contentUrl\": \"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/9e8d47be443ce94ce7fc357677b5f9c70235bb1f59e7267a102a74af58c04f59?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\n\t                \"caption\": \"migration\"\n\t            },\n\t            \"url\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/armytimes\\\/author\\\/migration\\\/\"\n\t        }\n\t    ]\n\t}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO Premium plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Silver Star for combat controller who rallied his team during insider attack - Army Times","description":"\"Perolio saved my life,\" said the team's wounded commander, a Green Beret. \"He is ... someone I consider a brother.\"","robots":{"index":"noindex","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Silver Star for combat controller who rallied his team during insider attack","og_description":"\"Perolio saved my life,\" said the team's wounded commander, a Green Beret. \"He is ... someone I consider a brother.\"","og_url":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/armytimes\/news\/your-army\/2019\/07\/19\/silver-star-for-combat-controller-who-rallied-his-team-during-insider-attack\/","og_site_name":"Army Times","article_published_time":"2019-07-19T17:38:35+00:00","article_modified_time":"2026-08-07T21:04:44+00:00","author":"Stephen Losey","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Stephen Losey","Est. reading time":"7 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/armytimes\/news\/your-army\/2019\/07\/19\/silver-star-for-combat-controller-who-rallied-his-team-during-insider-attack\/#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/armytimes\/news\/your-army\/2019\/07\/19\/silver-star-for-combat-controller-who-rallied-his-team-during-insider-attack\/"},"author":{"name":"migration","@id":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/armytimes\/#\/schema\/person\/cc76c831bb37a926738c8391fca7a3b1"},"headline":"Silver Star for combat controller who rallied his team during insider attack","datePublished":"2019-07-19T17:38:35+00:00","dateModified":"2026-08-07T21:04:44+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/armytimes\/news\/your-army\/2019\/07\/19\/silver-star-for-combat-controller-who-rallied-his-team-during-insider-attack\/"},"wordCount":1317,"commentCount":0,"publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/armytimes\/#organization"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/armytimes\/news\/your-army\/2019\/07\/19\/silver-star-for-combat-controller-who-rallied-his-team-during-insider-attack\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/Perolio_DeployedPhoto.jpg.jpg","articleSection":["Daily News Roundup","Home","Left Column","News","Newsletters","Your Army"],"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"CommentAction","name":"Comment","target":["https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/armytimes\/news\/your-army\/2019\/07\/19\/silver-star-for-combat-controller-who-rallied-his-team-during-insider-attack\/#respond"]}]},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/armytimes\/news\/your-army\/2019\/07\/19\/silver-star-for-combat-controller-who-rallied-his-team-during-insider-attack\/","url":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/armytimes\/news\/your-army\/2019\/07\/19\/silver-star-for-combat-controller-who-rallied-his-team-during-insider-attack\/","name":"Silver Star for combat controller who rallied his team during insider attack - Army Times","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/armytimes\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/armytimes\/news\/your-army\/2019\/07\/19\/silver-star-for-combat-controller-who-rallied-his-team-during-insider-attack\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/armytimes\/news\/your-army\/2019\/07\/19\/silver-star-for-combat-controller-who-rallied-his-team-during-insider-attack\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/Perolio_DeployedPhoto.jpg.jpg","datePublished":"2019-07-19T17:38:35+00:00","dateModified":"2026-08-07T21:04:44+00:00","description":"\"Perolio saved my life,\" said the team's wounded commander, a Green Beret. \"He is ... someone I consider a brother.\"","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/armytimes\/news\/your-army\/2019\/07\/19\/silver-star-for-combat-controller-who-rallied-his-team-during-insider-attack\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/armytimes\/news\/your-army\/2019\/07\/19\/silver-star-for-combat-controller-who-rallied-his-team-during-insider-attack\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/armytimes\/news\/your-army\/2019\/07\/19\/silver-star-for-combat-controller-who-rallied-his-team-during-insider-attack\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/Perolio_DeployedPhoto.jpg.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/Perolio_DeployedPhoto.jpg.jpg"},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/armytimes\/news\/your-army\/2019\/07\/19\/silver-star-for-combat-controller-who-rallied-his-team-during-insider-attack\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/armytimes\/","ad_zone":"home"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"News","item":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/armytimes\/news\/","ad_zone":"news"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"name":"Your Army","item":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/armytimes\/news\/your-army\/","ad_zone":"your-army"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":4,"name":"Silver Star for combat controller who rallied his team during insider attack"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/armytimes\/#website","url":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/armytimes\/","name":"Army Times","description":"Independent News For Soldiers | Army Times","publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/armytimes\/#organization"},"potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/armytimes\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/armytimes\/#organization","name":"Army Times","url":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/armytimes\/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/armytimes\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/army-logo-white.png","contentUrl":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/army-logo-white.png","caption":"Army Times"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/armytimes\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/"}},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/armytimes\/#\/schema\/person\/cc76c831bb37a926738c8391fca7a3b1","name":"migration","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/9e8d47be443ce94ce7fc357677b5f9c70235bb1f59e7267a102a74af58c04f59?s=96&d=mm&r=gcf4cb6ee0ec29e49e7a963234e4340ec","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/9e8d47be443ce94ce7fc357677b5f9c70235bb1f59e7267a102a74af58c04f59?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/9e8d47be443ce94ce7fc357677b5f9c70235bb1f59e7267a102a74af58c04f59?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"migration"},"url":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/armytimes\/author\/migration\/"}]}},"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"distributor_meta":false,"distributor_terms":false,"distributor_media":false,"distributor_original_site_name":"Army Times","distributor_original_site_url":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/armytimes","push-errors":false,"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/Perolio_DeployedPhoto.jpg.jpg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/armytimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/32120","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/armytimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/armytimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/armytimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/7"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/armytimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=32120"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/armytimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/32120\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":32123,"href":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/armytimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/32120\/revisions\/32123"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/armytimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=32120"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/armytimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=32120"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/armytimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=32120"},{"taxonomy":"author","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/armytimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/coauthors?post=32120"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}