8/2/2007 - POPE
AIR FORCE BASE, N.C. (AFPN) --
An Air Force A-10 Thunderbolt II
pilot has received the
Distinguished Flying Cross in a
ceremony here July 27 for a
nighttime rescue mission in
Afghanistan in 2005.
Maj. Keith Wolak, with the 74th
Fighter Squadron here, received
the honor for a combat search
and rescue mission he
coordinated July 2, 2005, when
he cleared a helicopter landing
zone while suppressing the
enemy's attacks. The mission was
to rescue a U.S. Navy SEAL on
the ground.
"I feel very proud and very
honored and I'll wear this medal
with pride," said Maj. Wolak. "I
didn't do anything any other
combat search and rescue trained
A-10 pilot wouldn't have done."
"We really weren't concerned
with any surfaced air threat to
the fighters out there," he
said. "Our concern was getting
the rescue helicopters in an
area where, just the week
before, we lost one helicopter
due to surfaced air fire.
Everything we were doing was
basically to protect the guys in
helicopters -- getting them in
and out."
Another A-10 pilot, Maj. Jeff
Yost of the 23rd Fighter Group,
said A-10 pilots are trained for
all types of weather conditions
and real-world operational
situations. He said that over
time, the A-10 has developed
into a close-air support asset,
which means taking care of
troops on the ground, which is
exactly what Major Wolak was
able to do that night.
When the lead A-10 attack
plane's equipment failed to
work, Major Wolak had the added
responsibility of attacking
several fighting positions
around the landing zone in
addition to being responsible
for coordinating the mission.
"Any of the other pilots in the
same shoes as me would have done
the same thing," the major said.
"It really pales in comparison
to all the guys on the ground,
all the guys in the helicopter
who we lost the week before and
the entire helicopter crews that
night. What I did doesn't really
compare to (their actions)."
What he was able to do was mark
out the area using infrared
technology, thereby guiding the
helicopters to the landing zone
safely. Without that guidance,
the helicopters would not have
been able to land, and the
rescue would not have been
successful.
"I always try to do the best job
I can at what I am assigned
because that's the right thing
to do for the folks you are
working with and for," he said.
