U.S. Ambassador Presents Awards to Fifth and Sixth Batallions of Salvadoran Soldiers in Iraq
September 23, 2006

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At a reception at his Residence the evening of September 21, U.S. Ambassador H. Douglas Barclay presented bronze eagle statues in honor of the fifth and sixth contingents of the Cuscatlan Batallion -- Salvadoran soldiers who did six-month tours of duty in Iraq. 

The commanding officers of the two batallions received the awards -- for the fifth rotation, Colonel Ruben Oswaldo Rubio Reyes; and for the sixth rotation, Colonel Julio Armando Garcia Oliva. 

Ambassador Barclay also presented a crystal eagle to General Eduardo Ernesto Mendoza Morales, the Chief of Staff of the Salvadoran Army, for his service as Deputy Commander of Coalition Forces in Iraq. 

In turn, the Salvadoran Armed Forces presented memorial certificates to Ambassador Barclay and to Colonel Felix Santiago, Commander of the U.S. Military Assistance Group in El Salvador.