Sergeant Philip A. McCulloch, Jr.
Company K, Third Battalion, Fifth Marines, Regimental Combat Team Eight, SECOND Marine Division (Forward), I Marine Expeditionary Force (Forward)

The President of the United States of America takes pleasure in presenting the Silver Star to Sergeant Philip A. McCulloch, Jr., United States Marine Corps, for conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity in action while serving as Squad Leader, Company K, Third Battalion, Fifth Marines, Regimental Combat Team Eight, SECOND Marine Division (Forward), I Marine Expeditionary Force (Forward) Afghanistan on 8 January 2011 in support of Operation ENDURING FREEDOM. During a six-hour engagement with insurgent forces in Sangin District, Sergeant McCulloch led his squad of Marine sin a determined pursuit of a numerically superior enemy force. After being attacked by enemy fighters, he personally led his squad's counter attack by assuming point and closing on the enemy, pausing just long enough to destroy an enemy fighting positions with an AT-4. Once he regained the initiative, he pursued the enemy into a nearby row of compounds and forced them into fixed positions where many of them were destroyed by close air support and indirect fires, combined with maneuver. Maintaining constant pressure on the enemy, he forced them to fall back as aircraft departed for fuel and ammunition re-supply. Throughout the engagement, he aggressively drove his Marines to remain focused, exposing himself to enemy fire to identify enemy positions and coordinate fires in support of maneuver. Even after beginning to return to base, as the enemy again engaged the Marines, he controlled another section of helicopters with devastating effects, allowing his squad to return to friendly lines. By his bold leadership, wise judgment, and complete dedication to duty, Sergeant McCulloch reflected great credit upon himself and upheld the highest traditions of the Marine Corps and of the United States Naval Service.