Our Fallen Comrade in Arms, Capt. Robert Yllescas

Our Fallen Comrade in Arms, Capt. Robert Yllescas
Story by Sgt. Charles Brice
Posted on 12.08.2008 at 02:00AM

By Sgt. Charles Brice3rd Brigade Combat Team, 1st Infantry Division
JALALABAD AIR FIELD, Afghanistan –



“Tip of the Spear” is an area well known to Bravo Troop “Blackfoot”, 6th Squadron, 4th Calvary Regiment in the Kamdesh District of the Nuristan province. The troops of 6-4 CAV have been in the area since 3rd Brigade Combat Team, 1st Infantry Division, took over the area of operation in support of Operation Enduring Freedom IX.


“Capt. Robert Jose Yllescas watched over the Soldiers and the locals of Keating District,” Lt. Col. James Markert commander of 6-4 CAV, Task Force Raider, said. “He cared for those who were in need of help and security. Bringing what is so far apart and putting them closer together.”


During his time in service, Yllescas served under 1st Armored Division as both tank platoon leader and executive officer during Operation Iraqi Freedom I 2003 and returned and served again as a Military Transition Team Detachment commander in Operation Iraqi Freedom IV 2006.

“Yllescas was an extraordinary person to be around,” Markert said. “He brought that ‘lead from the front’ mentality into the work he was doing.”


After serving two deployments with 1st Armored Division, Yllescas was assigned to 6-4 CAV. He took command of Blackfoot Troop, who is now in support of Operation Enduring Freedom ending his career, when an improvised explosive device exploded near his unit during a foot patrol in the Kamdesh Valley. He later passed in the National Naval Medical Center in Bethesda, leaving behind a wife, Dena Yllescas and two little girls, Julia and Eva, from Osceola, Neb.


“Capt. Yllescas distinguished himself as the commander of Blackfoot Troop; putting his Soldiers first is how he works,” Markert said. “He proved to be a good solid man and a loving husband and father and a strong, courageous leader.”


Blackfoot Troop was chosen to serve in an area that was notorious for enemy attacks. Every Soldier knew the risk it would take in order to complete their missions daily. Yllescas pushed the belief that Keating can someday become a wonderful place where all can meet in peace.


“Capt. Yllescas immediately garnered the respect of his Troops,” 1st Lt. Joseph T. Mazzochi Blackfoot Troop, 6-4 CAV, TF Raider, said. “He was more of a visionary than a leader, because we are sitting here in his honor and respecting his wishes as our mentor and friend.”


“When Blackfoot Troop arrived at Combat Outpost Keating, they had very little to work with in bridging the gap between them and the locals,” 1st Lt. Ronald Briley Marine Embedded Training Team 7-3, said. “Yllescas brought together the Soldiers of Black Troop to build a building and dedicate it to the area, so we can all come together as a symbol of unity.”


“The building dedicated to the people of the Keating District will not just serve the purpose that we are here for today, but will be put to use amongst the relationship we will gain over the time here,” Briley said. “This was Capt. Yllescas’ vision for us all, to step forward and bring the people together.

Today our hearts are heavy.

Thursday, December 4, 2008

Funeral Information
I just got word that Rob will be flown to Nebraska on Saturday. We will have a wake for the public on Sunday Dec 7th from 1-3pm in the Osceola Downtown City Auditorium. The funeral will be at 10am on Monday December 8th also at the Osceola Downtown City Auditorium. The address for this will be below. Also, I've got myself a PO Box while I'm at my parents for mail to be sent to me so you don't have to email me for the address. It is posted on the side of the blog. Again, thank you so much for all the support and prayers you've shown for Rob and our family.

Osceola Downtown City Auditorium
361 Central StOsceola, NE

Change of Address
Dena Yllescas
PO BOX 96
Osceola, NE 68651-0096

The blog has received emails asking for an update on the Marine who was injured with Cpt Yllescas. His wife has emailed that "He is almost completely recovered from his injuries and only has a headache here or there. . . He will be home VERY soon."





Today our hearts are heavy.



Rob is with God now.



http://yllescasfamily.blogspot.com/2008/12/rob-is-with-god-now.html

Thank you God, we love baby steps

http://www.yllescasfamily.blogspot.com/

So, depending on how he does between now and then will determine if we fly Tuesday. The other update is really quite exciting. They told us this morning that he had been quiet during the night and did not move. However, when I walked into the room and started talking to him, you could see his eyes moving behind his lids and he started moving his shoulders!!!! I couldn't believe it! I talked to him about the girls and he would move them even more. He even had tears coming from his eyes when Barb and I spoke to him. I asked him to squeeze my fingers and he would ever so slightly. The neuro dr came in and examined him and said that with everything he's been through, things are just going to take time. I told him to try to open his eyes. You could see him moving his shoulders up and down like he was trying to get them to open. You can only imagine how heavy is eyes are. They did have to sedate him a little when they thought we were flying, so he did go back to sleep for awhile. But right before we left him so he could go to surgery, I started rubbing his cheeks and forehead with my fingers and he again fluttered his eyes and moved his shoulders! This is such exciting news. I know it's baby steps but anything positive like this is HIGHLY encouraging! So, please keep praying that they will find what's causing his levels to be high and be able to fix the problem and that his neuro status continues to improve. God is good and He will provide.

6-4 Cavalry Fends Off Atack

By Staff Sgt. David Hopkins1st
Infantry Division public affairs

NURISTAN Province, Afghanistan — As the sun descended in the western sky, crouching down on the jagged mountain ridges of the Nuristan province on Aug. 2, 1st Infantry Division soldiers of 2nd Team, 6th Squadron, 4th Cavalry Regiment out of Fort Hood guarded the walls of their Combat Outpost, scanning the rocky slopes for anti-Afghan forces. They are trained to spot danger and act against it to protect their location and their fellow soldiers.

Then on the slopes above their position, a figure appeared, lurking among the boulders. Moments later another appeared. Before long there was a full attack on the outpost and its forces comprised of American and Afghan National Security Forces, were fighting for their lives.

By the time the battle was over, only one Afghan soldier suffered minor wounds while more than 20 insurgents were dead while countless others scrambled up the mountain nursing possibly fatal wounds.

At about 6:30 p.m., Sgt. Ian Boone and Pfc. Marco MaldonadoGacia were guarding the outpost when they first spotted enemy forces.

“I could not identify them as hostile until they bent down and picked up their weapons,” Boone said, recalling the first moments of the battle.

MaldonadoGarcia spotted them soon after and took the first shot, breaking the silence with the defining roar of his M-14 sniper rifle, killing an attacker 700 meters up the slope.

“This was decisive because from that moment on the enemy was on the defensive and no longer on the offensive,” Capt. Robert Yllescas, the unit’s commander, said.

Then Boone began to lay down suppressive fire.

The outpost was attacked by small-arms fire, rocket propelled grenades and PKM machine guns, landing many direct hits inside the camp, but none hitting the soldiers inside.

When the attack started, many of the soldiers were faced with the realities of war for the first time.

“You could see the shock in some of the soldiers’ eyes, as if they were asking the question: ‘Is this another test fire or is this for real.’ You could see fear in others’ eyes as they pondered the question of whether or not they would live to see another day,” 1st Sgt. Howard Johnson Mullens said. “And then, as if a switch was suddenly turned on, everyone was flawlessly executing the training they had received prior to deploying. Soldiers performed the defense drills to perfection. It was amazing; it was textbook execution.”