CTT1 Steve Daugherty, one of our students at NTTC Corry Station, Pensacola Florida while I was Director of Training, was killed in Iraq on my daughter's birthday. Steve and I shared birthdays - 16 May. Recognized by NSA as a cryptologic hero - HERE.The information below is from his FaceBook site-maintained by his family. Click on his gravestone (to the left) to go to his FaceBook page.
CTT1 (Cryptologic Technician Technical First Class) Steven P. Daugherty, born in Apple Valley, California, was killed in action July 6, 2007, in Baghdad, Iraq, by an improvised explosive device (IED). He was once student of the month at Barstow High School and made the honor roll at Barstow Community College. After graduating with an associate's degree in liberal studies, Steven enlisted in the Navy, where he worked with elite Navy SEAL teams, providing critical intelligence support to troops on the ground.
On that fateful day in July, Steven and his team were returning from a highly sensitive Joint Task Force operation in direct support of Operation Iraqi Freedom, when their vehicle struck an IED, killing him and the two other members of his unit. According to the National Security Agency, it turned out that the work he and his team performed earlier that day played a decisive role in thwarting a dangerous group of insurgents who were trying to kill U.S. and Coalition forces. Today, across from our nation's Capitol, Steven rests in peace in the sacred ground of Arlington National Cemetery.
Steven was respected by his peers as a professional and dedicated cryptologic technician, and his work was vital to the success of important combat missions. He was a decorated Sailor, having been awarded a Bronze Star (with combat "V"), Purple Heart, Combat Action Ribbon and other medals and commendations. His name is inscribed on National Security Agency's Memorial Wall, "They Served in Silence." Steven is only the second recipient of the National Intelligence Medal for Valor.
Steven was a loving 28-year-old father to an adoring 5-year-old son. A loyal brother to three fellow warfighters - two Airmen and one Soldier, Richard, Robert, and Kristine. And a faithful son to his parents, Thomas and Lydia.
Most of all, Steven P. Daugherty was a patriot who gave the full measure of devotion defending America's freedom.
In naming this important building to honor the sacrifice of Steven P. Daugherty, the Navy dedicates to him the latest addition to the nation's premiere Joint Warfare Assessment Laboratory at the Naval Surface Warfare Center, Corona Division. The Daugherty Memorial Assessment Center will stand as an ever-present reminder of Steven -- and to every Sailor, Marine, Soldier, and Airman who has given their life in defense of this country. This dedication also commemorates the groundbreaking work NSWC Corona is doing to support the Joint IED Defeat Organization in its mission to combat the threat of IEDs against our Armed Forces.
In addition to supporting needed counter-IED efforts, the Daugherty Memorial Assessment Center greatly enhances NSWC Corona’s ability to support key national missions. With it, NSWC Corona can provide Strike Group interoperability assessment needed to certify ships for deployment; provide critical flight analysis for all Navy surface missile systems; provide performance assessment of Aegis and Aegis Ballistic Missile Defense ships throughout their entire lifecycle; and finally, NSWC Corona can centralize, process, and distribute the Navy's combat and weapon system data on one of the largest classified networks in the Department of Defense.
The Daugherty Memorial Assessment Center is a state-of-the-art analysis and assessment asset that gives the nation extensive capability to protect our Armed Forces, our country, and our freedom.
11 comments:
Rest in peace Shipmate.
RIP Stephen Daugherty, my prayers to you and your family.
Mike, just saw our comment about our Dave and Liz, do you have a email address so I can update privately?
Captain Lambert,
As an observer only, in the conflicts we have in Iraq and Afghanistan I remain distressed that many of our valuable Sailors, Soldiers, and Marines have perished due to IED’s. There are so few roads in either of these backwards countries that we should have constant surveillance of everyone of these roads that our troops are patrolling. The protection of our troops as they patrol these Godforsaken pieces of desert, is an easy thing with the technology we have today. The UAVs have been proven to be effective and our troops should never have to patrol an area that has not been covered by UAV surveillance.
May PO1 Steven P. Daugherty rest in peace, as well as the others that were lost at the same time because somebody did not have their back.
Very Respectfully,
Navyman834
Those who have served quietly are often quietly forgotten. Thank you for remembering this quiet American.
Navyman 834:
It's true that IEDs have been by far the biggest killer and maimer in both Iraq and Afghanistan over the course of OEF/OIF/OND.
But you underestimate the magnitude of the counter-IED challenge when you suggest that UAVs can provide immediate, persistent coverage in enough numbers to eliminate this threat.
Afghanistan is the size of Texas. While its highway infrastructure does not compare with developed countries, imagine the challenge of persistent surveillance of even the the unpaved farm-to-market roads in Texas. Iraq has an extensive network of modern highways connecting its major cities and providing routes to bordering countries.
US and its partners forces have to move on the ground when their battle rhythm and local dictate, not based on the availability of UAV coverage.
The counter IED mission is a large one, and one that is moving forward on many levels far more sophisticated than standoff surveillance in advance of ground movements. The IED engagement/counter IED mission is an evolving battle as each side develops its own TTPs for use and defeat.
As for Steven Daugherty: I am humbled by his service and ache for the loss of one --like so many others-- so young.
Indeed, it is always the old men who start the wars and the young men who die in them. Pity it isn't the reverse.
Anonymous, July 7, 2012 4:05 AM,
Without going through the details of what killed, maimed or disabled our fighting men/women in Iraq and Afghanistan, and not being privy to the actual count of those individuals, from what I can understand the majority of the casualties have been from IED’s. But you state that the people that are there to do the job of protecting our fighting troops cannot do the job they are required to do. You did not say that in those words but that is what you implied. It is quite simple in my mind that you get more UAV’s and more operators to control these devices. I have no idea who you are but you, anonymous, are shirking your duty if you are directly involved and still allowing our fighting people to become casualties of IED’s, you should have the control over those individuals that are patrolling these roads and not allow them to traverse those roads until cleared by you folks.
There has been much talk about using UAV’s to monitor the United States, and that could be your Mama and your Daddy that they are looking at. All that activity should be terminated until our fighting people are fully protected with the capabilities that our country presently has.
Navyman834
Navyman834:
Please re-read my post, and please refrain from putting words in my mouth.
I have been to Afghanistan and understand far too much about the IED problem (from both forward experience and exposure to the fight against IEDs back in the states).
Trust me: wall-to-wall UAV presence is not an achievable solution. Your assertion that the "few roads" in these "backward countries" far oversimplifies the problem, and the "constant surveillance of everyone of these roads that are troops are patrolling" far oversimplifies the solution.
Information on deaths from IEDs in Iraq and Afghanistan is easily available from DefenseLink. Non-fatal IED injuries require more research, but are also available.
You should probably further educate yourself on how modern ground forces (and the "government building" teams they support) move on the ground in an insurgent environment.
Combat operations involve risk and exposure to danger. Doesn't matter if the threats are on shiny ships and planes and developed on remote test ranges by uniformed military personnel and development center scientists...or if they are cobbled together in the dark by a foreign fighter with access to a bag of fertilizer and some ball bearings.
As for comment about domestic surveillance: sorry, I'm all out of tinfoil hats.
As for shirking duty. You're forgiven. Been there, done that, got the t-shirt. Several times over. Please don't think you have a monopoly on service.
IDear Anonymous,
When an estimated 90 % of injuries or death to United States troops has occurred to these troops from IED’s, it is a major problem and everything that could be done should have been done to prevent this carnage. You say things to mitigate these circumstances, but that is no more than excuses. Buck up, Anonymous, let’s try to make a major effort of keeping our troops safe. The following is your words and I reject these words. This is no more than making cannon fodder of our troops.
US and its partners forces have to move on the ground when their battle rhythm and local dictate, not based on the availability of UAV coverage.
The following is more of your words.
Please re-read my post, and please refrain from putting words in my mouth.
I did not put any words in your mouth because your very next post stated precisely what I had complained about. I will repeat it for your edification, as follows.
US and its partners forces have to move on the ground when their battle rhythm and local dictate, not based on the availability of UAV coverage.
Why you defend a program of warfare that has had a 90% failure rate is beyond me, the only redeeming value of that is it shows loyalty, and that is a lot of what the military is all about. It is not my contention to find you as an individual at fault for doing your job and following orders.
By the way you implied that those of us on shiny ships and planes might feel that we were exempt from the real things of combat but you need to educate yourself on what we were all about when we had a great influence in the peace in the world in those days, and we were partially responsible for achieving. I reject your advice to study the strategy and BS of the war in Afghanistan, simply because of the 10 years we have spent fighting in that war seems to have done little except make more enemies in that area of the world. The Submarine that I was on for a number years was not a shiny thing that you try to make people envision, it was a big black monster filled with Sailors and weapons, and those Sailors knew that if they made mistakes it could be the end of the world.
We as military people do the job that was required by our sworn oath to this United States and I commend you for your belief in following what your country asked you to do, but I find that some of the efforts are rather futile and should be rethought when about 90% of the casualties of this war were due to IED’s.
Thank you for your service,
Navyman834
Navyman834:
I spent 20+ years in uniform, spent time as a white hat, the CPO mess and the wardroom. So I don't need any reminders about the people behind the platforms.
Since then, I've had the chance to work in multiple joint service environments as a civilian, including forward in a Army-dominant multinational environment during the peak of the US surge in Afghanistan where we in immediate contact with the results of IEDs.
You can't oversimplify the solution to IED casualties as "no troops on the roads unless UAVs are available..."
Even if they were...doesn't guarantee a solution to the problem.
I'm not defending anything. Folks on the ground have to move towards where the mission is. To wait for a 100% permissive environment is to retreat behind the wire, and open invitation to failure.
Sadly, modern coalition warfare has few moments of engagement with standing army along clear lines of battle. Look at topo map: much of Afghanistan is not desert, and there is nothing intrinsically easy (your words) about countering IEDs...anywhere in the world.
Tough problems are easier when viewed in black and white. Unfortunately, we have to move in a world that contains shades of grey.
Your 0531 touches on high level and policy issues that have little to do with solving the IED mission. I've got me a big old boatload of opinions about the wisdom of our efforts in SW Asia since 2001. None of them are germane to the IED problem.
Afghanistan is where our young volunteers are dying right now, and at this time of year. Their memory is honored by careful study of everything that came before their deaths, so that we might apply the lessons learned and save somebody else.
Anonymous, July 12, 2012 5:20 PM
Thank you for giving this blog the status of your Military career, I had a Navy career myself and you can find out what I am all about by searching, I LTCOHJ, as I have been a respondent to a number of posts by the author of this blog, this has gone on for a few years and in the process of response to the Captains posts I have fairly well identified what I felt was significant in my service to our Country.
These are your words;
You can't oversimplify the solution to IED casualties as "no troops on the roads unless UAVs are available..."
Even if they were...doesn't guarantee a solution to the problem.
It was not my intention to state that the use of UAV’s was the ultimate solution to the problem of death and injury of our troops, but a better use of that technology could in my mind have saved a lot of lives and catastrophic injury to the warriors on the battlefields of these two wars. I find it very difficult to accept that we have the technology to overcome this individual with access to fertilizer and ball bearings, and do not make full utilization of our technology. It should be our ultimate concern, as a country, that many of the dead and severely injured could have been saved.
Navyman834
E. A. Hughes, FTCM(SS)
U. S. Navy (Retired)
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