Staff Sargent Mike Salter Needs Our Help

Mike Salter is a member of the Reserves and was activated for duty in Afghanistan last year.

On his way to report for duty at Fort Bragg in North Carolina he and his wife were stopped for speeding and Mike was ticketed.

Never mind that he was shipping out, the North Carolina Trooper made sure to give Staff Sargent Salter a tough time and handed him a "Y'all must appear in court" ticket as opposed to a mail-in.

While overseas Staff Sargent Salter performed admirably to say the least and was awarded the Bronze Star for that performance. (The entire citation is posted below)

What could motivate a southern cop to give a Connecticut Reservist such a tough time that upon his return to the states as a bona fide American Hero he faced a Failure to Appear charge?

Why hasn't any high ranking Connecticut official taken care of this already you might ask? ACR would love to know that as well.

Here's Mike with his family upon his return to Connecticut where he was also met by none other than our own Governor Rell.



Mike is still facing the Failure to Appear charge and no one in North Carolina seems inclined to convert the ticket so as to avoid forcing him to retain a local southern boy attorney at some expense that he should not in ACR's view be forced to pay. (The ticket is another issue and Mike would love to pay it and go on with his life with his lovely wife & daughter.)

It's apparent that some of the folks in North Carolina have forgotten just who won the Civil War.

This needs serious press coverage; please help us to that end by forwarding a link, or calling people who you might know in the media.


You can always contact ACR via the links on this page.



Bronze Star Medal

STAFF SERGEANT MICHAEL J. SALTER

For exceptionally meritorious service as Rifle Squad Leader of the Force Protection Platoon, Qalat Provincial Reconstruction Team. International Security Assistance Force in support of Operation ENDURING FREEDOM VII from 17 April 2006 to 15 April 2007.
Staff Sergeant Salter’s outstanding leadership provided the depth and redundancy that is required to maintain an effective fighting force in a combat theater. Throughout Operation ENDURING FREEDOM VII, Sergeant Salter has demonstrated the technical and tactical competency to lead troops in combat, personally leading his squad on 201 successful missions. Through his leadership and ability to instill a mission first attitude, his rifle squad has developed into a highly effective fighting force that can be counted on to work independently or with other squads to confront the most dangerous situations. His squad has fought with distinction in the face of anti-coalition militants on multiple occasions, always succeeding in repelling the attack and ensuring mission success.
Sergeant Salter led the security detail for joint Army, Navy and Air Force explosive ordinance disposal teams, providing site security and safely delivering the EOD team to remote locations 27 times deep inside enemy dominated territory. Sergeant Salter’s successful leadership resulted in five coalition convoys being recovered from ambush sites and returning injured soldiers and seven inoperable vehicles to FOB Lagman.
On the 10 December 2006, Sergeant Salter was part of a company sized operation to recover a platoon of Combat Engineers who had been ambushed on the road from Mizan District. Sergeant Salter successfully coordinated with adjacent U.S. elements and a Romanian mortar platoon to reach the site of the ambush and secure it. During the initial recovery operation anti-coalition elements attacked the convoy. Sergeant Salter coordinated with Romanian forces to de-conflict fires and successfully fought off the attack. Post attack, Sergeant Salter then became an integral part in setting up an overnight perimeter to protect against another attack when required Afghan National Army elements failed to arrive making recovery impossible that day. Once the ANA arrived the following day, Sergeant Salter made vital inputs organizing the ground assault convoy back to FOB Lagman. Additional vehicle breakdowns on the return journey and adverse weather lengthened the two hour trip to over six hours. Sergeant Salter’s mental and physical endurance were vital to mission success.
Sergeant Salter’s professionalism and commitment to team work has helped forge a PRT that is renown for its successful initiatives in working with both non-governmental organizations and the Afghan and coalition civilian leadership to integrate a more unified approach to the problems facing Afghanistan today. Sergeant Salter supported such varied interests as the Unitcd Nations Operations in Qalat, the United Nations Assistance Mission - Afghanistan, the World Food Program, the U.S. Department of State, NATO and the government of the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan. Sergeant Salter often found himself coordinating directly with these interests, setting up shuras in remote villages to enhance their ability to connect with the Afghans that needed their assistance. In doing so, Sergeant Salter often found himself having to seamlessly integrate into a fluid environment of interagency and multinational operations.
Sergeant Salter provided critical logistics support including transportation and security for 226 visitors and 42 distinguished visitors including the Secretary of Defense, U.S. Ambassador to Afghanistan, President of Romania, UN Security Council and the North Atlantic Council. This exceptional support assured the success of every mission and enabled the successful delivery of vital political and resource requirement messages by the Governor, Regional Commander and PRT Commander to senior policy making officials from 16 countries. This required both skill and diplomacy as his team coordinated with security elements from five different countries on a routine basis; something he accomplished with skill and aplomb. Each and every visit has resulted in zero casualties or even a security incident; with some convoys as large as 17 vehicles and 85 personnel.
In addition, his training and resulting squad expertise assured the provincial reconstruction team maintained the freedom of movement to manage 60 projects, valued at over 19 million dollars, across the 17,000 km2 of Zabul Province and demonstrate to the people the Afghan government’s concern and desire to provide resources and services to all Zabul communities. This freedom of movement assured a 530% monthly increase in the availability and treatment of Afghans at the Zabul Provincial Hospital: the construction of nine government buildings dedicated to providing additional Afghan services; and the implementation of Afghan National Auxiliary Police training and the graduation of 405 additional officers providing local security support to the community.
His performance of duty in a combat zone reflects great credit upon himself, C Co 1st Bn 102nd Infantry, the Qalat Provincial Reconstruction Team, Task Force Taurus, Combined/Joint Task Force-76 and the United States Army.