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 photos by Sgt. 1st Class Shannon Wright/ photo collage by Michelle Butzgy/Paraglide
From left: Capt. Anthony Fuscellaro, Chief Warrant Officer Toby Familo, Lt. Col. David Jernigan, Chief Warrant Officer Adam Fletcher, Lt. Col. Wade Blackwell, Chief Warrant Officer Cody Pearson, Lt. Col. Mike Morgan, Chief Warrant Officer Seth Schubert, Chief Warrant Officer Michael Leoni and Chief Warrant Officer Samuel Ratterree received Distinguished Flying Crosses Friday for heroic actions while serving in Afghanistan.
10 aviators from the 82nd CAB awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross
by Sgt. 1st Class Shannon Wright
82nd CAB, 82nd Abn. Div. TF Pegasus PAO
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KANDAHAR AIR FIELD, Afghanistan — Ten Aviators assigned to the 82nd Combat Aviation Brigade received Distinguished Flying Crosses Friday for heroic actions while serving in Afghanistan. The DFC is awarded to any person who distinguishes himself through heroism or extraordinary achievement while in flight. Further, the achievement must be deemed so
exceptional as to set the individual apart from his peers who might be in similar circumstances.
Eight OH58 Kiowa Warrior helicopter pilots assigned to 1st Squadron, 17th Aviation Cavalry Regiment, or Task Force Saber, including the Saber commander; the commander of 1st Battalion, 82nd Avn. Reg., or TF Wolfpack, an AH64 Apache helicopter pilot; the commander of 3rd Bn., 82nd Avn. Reg., or TF Talon, a UH60 Blackhawk helicopter pilot; and an aero-medical evacuation pilot assigned to TF Talon were awarded DFC’s by British Maj. Gen. Nick Carter, Regional Command South commander, at Kandahar Air Field, Afghanistan.
RC-S is the 82nd CAB’s division level headquarters in Afghanistan.
“It’s great always for me as your CG (commanding general) to do things like this,” said Carter. “When I look at what you’re doing every day, you are unsung heroes.”
The eight Kiowa pilots assigned to Saber fly reconnaissance and security missions for ground forces. One of Saber’s areas of responsibility is the Arghandab River Valley in Kandahar province where ground forces from the 4th Brigade Combat Team, 82nd Airborne Division patrol the area and interact with the local population.
“These Kiowa pilots ... I hear nothing but praise when I go to the Arghandab,” said Carter. “I talk to the battalion on the ground, they say without the Kiowas, they simply wouldn’t be able to operate the way they do.”
Carter ended with a quote he heard in church. “Battles are won by slaughter and maneuver. The better the commander, the more he demands in maneuver, the less he demands in slaughter.” ‘And, if ever there was something that encapsulates what this organization does on the battle field, it is that.’”
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