George w. casey jr. - Federation of American Scientists

The 11 th annual CSM Doug Russell
Award ceremony was held on 8 March
2011 during the Military Intelligence
(MI) CSM/SGM Conference. This
year’s award, as well as the Knowlton
Award, was presented to Specialist
Sasha Fleetwood. Specialist Fleetwood
was born in Pampa, Texas, in 1989;
the oldest of four brothers and sisters.
She graduated from Borger High
School, Borger, Texas in 2007 where
she lettered in cross country, track,
wrestling, cheerleading, and academics.
She then completed two semesters
at Oklahoma City Community
College with a focus on Engineering.
She enlisted in the Army in February
2008, and graduated from Basic
Combat Training at Fort Leonard Wood, Missouri, in August 2008. Specialist Fleetwood then graduated
from the Human Intelligence (HUMINT) Collectors Course at Fort Huachuca, Arizona in March 2009.
Her first assignment was with the 202 nd MI Battalion, 513 th MI Brigade, Fort Gordon, Georgia. After arriving
at Fort Gordon in March 2009, she initially conducted overt debriefing operations in support of U.S.
Army Intelligence and Security Command and U.S. Army Central mission requirements. After proving herself
as a HUMINT Collector, she was chosen to deploy with a Counterintelligence-HUMINT platoon from
Alpha Company, 202 nd MI Battalion.
From October 2009 to October 2010, Specialist Fleetwood supported Combined Joint Special Operations
Task Force–Afghanistan (CJSOTF-A). During her year in Oruzgan Province, Afghanistan, she was responsible
for conducting Military Source Operations and Interrogations in support of Special Operation
missions. She wrote more than 40 Time Sensitive Intelligence Reports and 150 Intelligence Information
Reports which resulted in a significant reduction of attacks throughout the region. While deployed, she
spearheaded the establishment of a female shura that gave political voice to the area’s female population.
During her deployment, Specialist Fleetwood participated in more than 40 combat missions and was
awarded the Combat Action Badge for her role as a member of a mortar team during an engagement with
enemy forces.
“I really didn’t do anything special; I just think I did my job,” Fleetwood stated when talking about her
deployment and mission in Afghanistan. She went on to say that the best part of the deployment was being
able to see she had made a direct impact. “I told myself when I went to Afghanistan that I didn’t want to
leave feeling unaccomplished and I think I met my goal; I feel I did something good.” Specialist Fleetwood
says she owes her success to the mentorship she received.
For her meritorious service in support of CJSOTF-A, Specialist Fleetwood was awarded the Bronze Star
Medal. She was promoted to Sergeant on 1 May 2011.
The CSM Doug Russell Award recognizes a Soldier (Sergeant or below) who has made significant contributions
to the MI Corps. The award was established in 1999. Nominees must be active duty, National Guard,
or Reserve MI Soldiers or non-MI Soldiers assigned to an MI unit. Although the nominees need not be MI
Soldiers, their achievements must be in direct contribution to the MI mission. Ten MI Corps Soldiers were
nominated for the award—four Specialists and six sergeants.
Photo by Amy Sunseri. Portions of this announcement were originally printed in The Huachuca Scout, 17 March 2011 by Amy
Suneri.