| Year | Awardee | Action |
|---|
| Dude Flight
Lieutenant Colonel Donald D. Cornwell
Lieutenant Colonel Dylan T. Wells
Captain Leigh P. Larkin
First Lieutenant Nicholas R. Tsougas | While operating as a flight of two F-15E Strike Eagles - call signs Dude 01 and Dude 02 - they were tasked to support a Combined Joint Special Operations Task Force team surrounded by over 100 enemy fighters in the town of Bala Morgab, Afghanistan. With weather below rescue force launch minimums, Dude flight used terrain-following radar to execute five "Show of Force" passes in a valley surrounded by high terrain. When hostilities escalated, Dude Flight expertly employed six Joint Direct Attack Munitions, helping kill over 80 Taliban fighters who occupied reinforced positions within the town. Their efforts helped save the lives of approximately 30 coalition troops. There were no civilian casualties. |
| Crews of Pedro 83 Flight
Crew Members of Pedro 83
Captain Joshua Hallada (Flight Lead)
First Lieutenant Elliott Milliken (Co-Pilot)
Senior Airman Michael Price (Flight Engineer)
Senior Airman Justin Tite (Aerial Gunner)
Crew Members of Pedro 84
Major Philip Bryant (Mission Pilot)
Captain Louis Nolting
Technical Sergeant James Davis
Technical Sergeant Heath Culbertson
Technical Sergeant William Gonzalez
Crew Members of Guardian Angel Team
Major Jesse Peterson (Guardian Angel Team Commander)
First Lieutenant Aaron Hunter (Combat Rescue Officer)
Master Sergeant Matthew Schrader (Pararescueman)
Technical Sergeant Joshua Vanderbrink
Technical Sergeant Christopher Uriarte
Technical Sergeant Shane Hargis
Staff Sergeant Jason Ruiz
Staff Sergeant Angel Santana
Staff Sergeant Nathan Greene
Staff Sergeant Zachary Kline (Pararescueman)
Staff Sergeant William Cenna | The Crews of Pedro 83 Flight, who distinguished themselves in combat search and rescue operations on April 23, 2011 while assigned to the 83rd Expeditionary Rescue Squadron, Bagram Air Base, Afghanistan. |
| HH-60 Crews of Pedro 83 and Pedro 84
Captain Vincent B. Powell
Captain Thomas R. Stengl
Captain Brion P. Stroud
First Lieutenant Paul A. Fry
Chief Master Sergeant Norman S. Callahan
Technical Sergeant John G. Ballard
Staff Sergeant Lucas G. Ferrari
Staff Sergeant Mahonri R. Gibson
Staff Sergeant Thomas A. Hervert
Technical Sergeant Cameron J. Hystad
Staff Sergeant William A. Mathis
Senior Airman Brian D. Ayers
Senior Airman Jordan J. Dehlbom | The members and crew of Pedro 83 Flight distinguished themselves an Air Force Combat search and rescue aircrew from November 1, 2011 to February 8, 2012. In January 2012, Pedro 83 Flight, launched in response to a MEDEVAC call near Mazar-e-Sharif, Afghanistan. The flight navigated through low visibility to reach the patient. Upon arrival, Pedro 84 executed a hoist over hostile terrain to infiltrate Pararescuemen and provide life-saving care to the wounded soldier. The actions of Pedro 83 Flight saved the patient's life while providing direct support to the ongoing assault operations. [16] |
| Crews of Rooster 73 Flight
Crew Members of Rooster 73
Major Ryan P. Mittelstet
Captain Brett J. Cassidy
Technical Sergeant David A. Shea
Staff Sergeant Christopher Nin
Crew Members of Rooster 74
Captain William J. Mendel
Captain Arjun U. Rau
Staff Sergeant James M. McKay
Staff Sergeant Kenneth E. Zupkow II
Crew Members of Rooster 75
Major B. Taylor Fingarson
Captain Daniel J. Denney
Master Sergeant Alberto L. Delgado
Master Sergeant Jeremy D. Hoye
Technical Sergeant Daniel Warren
Technical Sergeant Jason Broline
Senior Airman Lee Von Hackprestinary [17] | The crews of Rooster 73 flight distinguished themselves as CV-22 Pilots and Flight Engineers with the 8th Expeditionary Special Operations Squadron, on December 21, 2013 while in support of Noncombatant Evacuation Operations in the vicinity of Bor, South Sudan. On approach to land, the flight took heavy surface-to-air fire, resulting in damage to multiple aircraft systems. The damage caused multiple fuel leaks requiring emergency airborne refueling to allow for the safe return of all three battle damaged aircraft, crew, and passengers. Damage to the aircraft required crew members to manually extend refueling probes and activate emergency aerial refueling valves to enable multiple refueling tracks to take on enough fuel to reach Entebbe. Time critical decision making, outstanding airmanship, and extraordinary crew resource management allowed the members of Rooster 73 Flight to save 34 aircrew and three $89 million aircraft. [18] |
| THE CREW OF IRONHAND 41 FLIGHT Captain Gregory R. Balzhiser
Captain David A. Kroontje | The aircrew of the Pacific Air Forces` Ironhand 41 flight, orchestrated four flawless attacks during an eight-hour night, flying F-16Cs over 500 miles in enemy-controlled terrain. Their attacks destroyed three Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) blockades, multiple armored vehicles, one observation post, and killed ISIL fighters who were firing upon 40,000 trapped Yazidi civilians who had fled to Mount Sinjar. Their outstanding battle management caused the cessation of ISIL indirect fires on civilians, ended ISIL freedom of movement around Mount Sinjar, facilitated the evacuation corridor by reducing pressure on Peshmerga ground forces, and ultimately saved the lives of 40,000 civilians including women, children, elderly, and the infirm. |
| THE CREWS OF WEASEL 41 AND WEASEL 51 FLIGHT Lieutenant Colonel Jeffrey Cohen
Major Seth Taylor
Captain Danielle Kangas
Captain Mathew Park
| On July 26, 2015, United States Air Force Lieutenant Colonel Jeffrey Cohen, Major Seth Taylor, Captain Danielle Kangas, and Captain Mathew Park, arrived on scene over Hassekah, a major city in northeast Syria, where friendly Syrian Kurdish ground units were battling the last significant holdout of a group of Islamic State enemy personnel. A firefight in the southeast portion of the city had erupted, pinning Kurdish ground units in a dense urban city block. Overcoming targeting complicated by weather and limited communications, Lieutenant Colonel Cohen and Major Taylor expertly coordinated and employed several successful munitions in support of Kurdish forces despite highly restrictive attack parameters. Captain Kangas and Captain Park tracked and executed an effective attack on fleeing enemy soldiers wearing blankets to reduce their infrared signature. In a four-hour period, the crews of WEASEL 41 and WEASEL 51 flight employed 15 precision guided munitions, destroying eight enemy fighting positions, with no friendly or civilian casualties. This marked the end of a three-month operation in Northern Syria that resulted in friendly Kurdish forces retaking over 17 thousand square kilometers of territory, securing the Syria/Turkey border between Iraq and the Euphrates River. |
| THE CREW OF SPOOKY 43 FLIGHT Major Alexander Hill
Major Aaron Hall
Captain Garrett Robinson
1st Lt. Zachary Hanley
1st Lt. Marshall Shefler
Staff Sgt. William Cody
Staff Sgt. Freddie Coffee
Staff Sgt. Cody Flora
Staff Sgt. David Kerns Jr.
Staff Sgt. Timothy Lewis
Staff Sgt. Alexander Skidgel
Senior Airman Kellen Lloyd
Senior Airman Jonathan Russell
Airman 1st Class Raymond Bourne | On November 2, 2016, the crew of SPOOKY 43 was tasked to provide close air support and armed reconnaissance for a 55-man combined American and Afghan special operations team conducting a raid to interdict insurgent command and control nodes, senior leadership, and their networks. After the crew of SPOOKY 43 arrived overhead, the combined American and Afghan special operations force (also referred to as “friendlies”) was caught in a deadly ambush by a large insurgent force. The friendlies were engaged by small arms, heavy machine gun, and grenade fire from multiple defensive fighting positions. The crew of SPOOKY 43 provided close air support to the friendly ground force with the 25, 40, and 105-millimeter guns, to allow them the freedom to maneuver and provide care for casualties. In order to protect the ground team from enemy personnel, the crew of SPOOKY 43 expertly employed the 105-millimeter gun at an unprecedented 12 meters from the friendly personnel. Due to the outstanding airmanship and bravery under extremely challenging circumstances, SPOOKY 43 destroyed 10 defensive fighting positions, 27 enemy insurgents, and three enemy technical vehicles, saving the lives of 50 combined American and Afghan special operations forces personnel who would have otherwise perished in the enemy ambush. The professional ability and outstanding aerial accomplishments of the crew of SPOOKY 43 reflect credit upon themselves and the United States Air Force. |
| The Crew of Boar 51 Flight Major Schultz
Captain Harvey | On May 2, 2017, the crew of Boar 51 was re-tasked to support a troops-in-contact situation where 50 American and countless Syrian Democratic Forces were pinned down with heavy machine gun fire, mortars, and rocket-propelled grenades. Boar 51 flight expended 1,500 pounds of ordnance and 1,300, 30-millimeter rounds on 19 targets, often inside danger close criteria. For over five hours, Captain Harvey and Major Schultz overcame communications degradation, severe thunderstorms and near-zero visibility, ultimately saving the lives of friendly forces. The distinctive accomplishments of Captain Harvey and Major Schultz reflect great credit upon themselves and the United States Air Force. |
| The Crew of DRACO 42 Flight Major Caitlin Reilly
Captain Samantha Lang
Captain Patrick Perez
Senior Airmen Kyle Hanson | The crew of Draco 42 distinguished themselves as a U-28A crew, 319th Special Operations Squadron, Combined Joint Special Operations Air Component-Afghanistan in support of Operation Freedom's Sentinel while serving as the Tactical Air Controller-Airborne for a joint, interagency, time-sensitive mission on August 14, 2018. Despite multiple rounds of indirect fire impacting near the aircraft at their forward refueling location, Draco 42 continued to coordinate rapidly evolving target and concept of operation changes with geographically separated air and ground assets. Once airborne, Draco 42 managed the highly complex operation of simultaneous helicopter infiltrations to time-sensitive targets in urban areas that yielded valuable intelligence on a top-level Al Qaeda leader and four enemy killed in action. The professional ability and outstanding aerial accomplishments of the crew of Draco 42 reflect great credit upon themselves and the United States Air Force. |
| The Crew of HAWG 71 Flight Captain Alexander E. Boules
Major Charles C. Stretch | The crew of Hawg 71 were deployed from their home station of Davis-Monthan Air Force Base, Arizona, as a two-ship formation of A10Cs, flying out of the 354th Expeditionary Fighter Squadron, 451st Air Expeditionary Group, Kandahar Air Base, Afghanistan, in support of Operation Freedom’s Sentinel. On July 19, 2019, Captain Boules and Major Stretch were tasked to support a troops-in-contact situation in which countless Afghan Special Forces were being overrun, captured, and pinned down with heavy machine gun fire and rocket propelled grenades. Working together as Hawg 71 flight, Captain Boules and Major Stretch waged a diligent battle against the difficulties of night operations, terrain, dislocated controllers, and significant language barriers to enable coordinated strikes against enemy fighters, ultimately saving the lives of 12 Afghan Special Forces members. The professional ability and outstanding aerial accomplishments of the crew of Hawg 71 reflect great credit upon themselves and the United States Air Force. |
| The Crews of Shadow 77 and Shadow 78 Crew of Shadow 77:
Capt Lawrence S. Bria
Capt Sam B. Pearce
Capt Aaron M. Rigg
Maj Joshua T. Burris
Capt Michael G. Shelor
SSgt Daniel J. Mayle
SSgt Kevin P. Heimbach
SrA Denver M. Reinwald
SrA Timothy J. Cisar
Crew of Shadow 78:
Capt Culley R. Horne
1Lt William A. Bachmann
Capt Ryan M. Elliott
Capt Benjamin A. Hoyt
SSgt Dylan T. Hansen
SSgt Andrew J. Malinowski
SSgt Tyler J. Blue
SSgt Gregory A. Page
SrA Miguelle B. Corpuz | As outlined in the United States Air Force nomination, the crews distinguished themselves in support of Operation Freedom’s Sentinel when in August 2021 they alert launched from Al Dhafra Air Force Base, United Arab Emirates, for a Close Air Support mission to protect the 2,000 Americans evacuating the embassy in Kabul, Afghanistan. The crews skillfully maintained visual custody of all American personnel enroute to Hamid Karzai International Airport and provided full-motion video in real-time to the Secretary of Defense and the Joint Chiefs of Staff as they watched the evacuation transpire. Overall, the crews of Shadow 77 and 78 flew the longest unaugmented AC-130J flight to date and their efforts to safeguard the embassy evacuation directly resulted in the successful rescue of 2,000 American diplomats with zero casualties. |
