Mission Support Group Airmen receive Combat Action Medal

  • Published
  • By Staff Sgt. Brian Stives
  • 366th Fighter Wing Public Affairs Office
MOUNTAIN HOME AIR FORCE BASE, Idaho --  Three Airmen from the 366th Mission Support Group received Combat Action medals for their deployments in support of operations Iraqi and Enduring freedoms.

Col. Jeffrey Maxwell, 366th MSG commander, presented the medals to Staff Sgt. James Adams and Staff Sgt. Swift Moon, both from the 366th Civil Engineer Squadron explosives ordnance disposal flight, and Senior Airman Kevin Ingerick, 366th Logistics Readiness Squadron vehicle operations dispatcher.

The medal recognizes Air Force members engaged in air or ground combat off base in a combat zone. This includes members under direct and hostile fire or those that personally engaged hostile forces with direct and lethal fire.

Sergeant Adams was deployed to Baghdad, Iraq, and assigned to a team conducting route clearance operations, or RCP. On Feb. 6, 2006, Sergeant Adams was assigned to clear a location for a vehicle checkpoint in the Baghdad area. While en route to its mission, the RCP team encountered two improvised explosive devices.

"We were on a route clearance mission and we came under mortar and small arms fire while clearing the two IEDs," said Sergeant Adams. "After they were cleared, we pressed on and we came under fire again in a small town south of Baghdad."

When the team arrived at the site designated as a checkpoint, they began the clearance operation.

"While sitting at the checkpoint site, we came under small arms fire again," said Sergeant Adams. "We returned fire, and then started getting more enemy fire from behind us. Our security element suppressed that fire and we finally left.

"On the way back I notice a guy counting vehicles as we passed," said Sergeant Adams. "Further up the road, small arms fire was directed at the EOD [High Mobility Multipurpose Wheeled Vehicle] we passed. Our security suppressed that fire also, and we finally made it home."

Sergeant Moon was deployed as part of Provincial Reconstruction Team in Qalat, Zabul Province, Afghanistan, for a 365-day deployment. He was tasked to provide EOD support to Army Firebase Baylough during an offensive that took place in late May 2007. The team was part of a HMMWV quick response force dispatched in the event one of the dismounted patrols ran into heavy enemy forces.

"On May 24, we were dispatched to a patrol taking heavy small arms and rocket propelled grenade fire which had sustained significant casualties," said Sergeant Moon. "My team (a Navy EOD team chief, Army gunner and myself) rolled out with three other trucks to suppress the Taliban ambush and evacuate the casualties, as the area was too hot for helicopter medical evacuations."

En route to the ambushed patrol, the lead HMMWV struck an IED placed in a choke point. One occupant sustained serious injuries to his legs while the others suffered minor injuries. Their disabled vehicle was now blocking the only vehicle route into the area where the initial dismounted patrol was ambushed. At this time, one of the HMMWVs rolled back to the firebase with the IED casualties, and Sergeant Moon's truck and another removed the disabled vehicle enough to navigate around and proceed to the ambush site.

"Upon our arrival at the site, we exchanged fire with the Taliban for about 10 minutes," said Sergeant Moon. "We were able to pin them down with the HMMWV mounted crew-served weapons, and about 15 minutes later air cover finally arrived. An F-15 (U.S., but I don't know from where) dropped two [joint direct attack munitions] on consecutive passes and eliminated most of the initial Taliban force.

"We used the break provided by our air cover to load the injured personnel onto the HMMWVs and begin 'ex-filling' the area," said Sergeant Moon. "The Taliban regrouped shortly thereafter, and we left the area still periodically exchanging fire. After moving about a half-mile, my truck was disabled, the wheel locked into a hard left-hand turn and would not budge. At this time our truck was on a goat-trail of a road with a cliff wall on one side and a 30-foot drop into a river on the other. We were 100 percent stuck. We took occasional pot-shots from the Taliban as we moved all the casualties into the vehicle in front of mine and they soloed it back to the Firebase.

"The two trucks left behind and the rest of the dismounted patrol took up defensive positions and waited for the Taliban to regroup and re-attack," said Sergeant Moon. "The attack came about 30 minutes later and lasted almost six hours. Our truck was struck repeatedly by small arms, many times inside the turret itself, but our gunner stayed up there like a champ and likely saved all of our lives (he was awarded a Bronze Star with valor). Amazingly, nobody was hit and the only injuries any of us sustained were concussion injuries from the RPG blasts.

"When it was all said and done, they told us that the 13 of us had held off an estimated 150 Taliban militants," said Sergeant Moon.

Airman Ingerick was deployed as a gunner, driver, truck commander, combat life saver and radio transmission officer for eight months to Forward Operating Base Anaconda, Iraq. On Dec. 5, 2005, he was traveling south on a mission from FOB Speicher to FOB Anaconda on the main supply route, known as Tampa.

"As the convoy entered Balad Market, we encountered a small arms attack from the left side of the convoy," said Airman Ingerick. "During the attack, two trucks were hit with the small arms fire, along with two personnel.

"I got out of my truck at the rally point and utilized my combat life saver skills and began administering first aid to one of the injured personnel," said Airman Ingerick. "After I finished treating the person, they were rushed to a landing zone at the front of the convoy and airlifted to the closest FOB for further treatment."

"I'm so proud of these heroic Airmen," said Colonel Maxwell. "Their brave actions while under enemy fire directly contributed to mission accomplishment."

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