Six NYANG troops awarded Bronze Star for valor

The Republic reports that a rescue crew from the New York Air National Guard’s 106th Rescue Wing’s 103rd Rescue Squadron are to be awarded Bronze Stars with a Valor device for their rescue of three Americans and an Afghan who had been injured by an explosive device. the rescue took place under intense fire;

The Guard airmen are Capt. Ronnie Maloney, Senior Master Sgt. Erik Blom, Staff Sgts. James Dougherty, Christopher Petersen and Matthew Zimmer, and Technical Sgt. Anthony Yusup.

Blom and Yusup serve part-time in the Air Guard. Blom is a Suffolk County police officer. Yusup is studying to become a nurse.

The other four are full-time members of the 106th Rescue Wing.

Yusup is from Bloomsburg, Pennsylvania, while the other five live in Suffolk County.

From Read Media;

The friendly unit was still under Taliban fire as the two helicopters approached the scene. Pedro 62, the trail helicopter, moved into the area to put the three-man team of Yusup, Dougherty, and Petersen on the ground first.

As the helicopter moved in to off load the three Airmen it came under machinegun fire which continued as the men moved to linkup with the American and Afghan infantrymen who were sheltering behind a mud wall. Two rocket propelled grenades hit the ground five meters away from the Air Guardsmen as they began to conduct triage on the wounded Soldiers.

Yusup, the leader of that three-man element, according to the official citation, elected to remain in the open while exposed to enemy fire so that he could control the casualty collection point and direct timely casualty treatment.

Dougherty and Peterson ignored the enemy fire and began immediate treatment to save the lives of the injured men. When rocket propelled grenades hit nearby they covered the wounded with their own bodies.

Meanwhile, the lead helicopter Pedro 61, landed to allow the other three Guardsmen: Maloney, the Combat Rescue Officer; Blom, the team noncommissioned officer in charge, and Zimmer.

All three men ran across open ground, despite the enemy fire, to help in treating and moving the casualties.

There’s more of the story at the link that you should read. We make fun of the Air Force and the National Guard, but, really, what would we do without men like these?

Category: Air Force, Real Soldiers