The Story:
One of the keys tenets of the war plan in Afghanistan is to help the Afghans take control of their own country – to build a central government that can provide basic functions, such as security and economic infrastructure. Men like Staff Sgt. Roller and his team found themselves helping the Afghans meet that goal.
One of Roller’s main tasks is to train and mentor policemen in the Afghan National Police (ANP). Roller and his team have helped the local police chiefs build a better, more efficient police force structure and have also trained the policemen as first responders. As part of their training and mentoring assignments, Roller and his team accompany the ANP on many dangerous missions. For instance, on Oct. 21, 2006, Roller’s squad and an ANP unit traveled to a village where a possible Taliban meeting was about to take place. After scouting the area and meeting with the village elders, they determined that there were not any Taliban fighters in the village. But while the team was searching the area, enemies placed an anti-tank mine along the road back to their base. Roller’s vehicle hit the mine, which injured three inside, including Roller. The team was able to get back to the base and the injuries were not life threatening.
Since September 2006, Roller and his team have worked closely with the local and provincial leaders in the Ghazni province. They have helped identify and meet the area’s security, reconstruction, and humanitarian needs – a difficult task that has required coordination with the provincial reconstruction teams. His squad also helps provide food, school supplies, and medicinal care to the local Afghans – and oftentimes they bring Army medics and physical assistants with them to treat the villagers. For his leadership and actions, Roller was awarded the Bronze Star in December 2006