Tech. Sgt. Matthew McKenna earns Silver Star

Stars & Stripes tells the story of Air Force Tech. Sgt. Matthew McKenna, a combat controller who was awarded the Silver Star Medal for his actions in Afghanistan last year;

McKenna and his team found themselves outnumbered with the enemy closing in on their position from higher ground, according to an Air Force statement.

McKenna coordinated airstrikes on 10 insurgents, preventing them from completing an ambush of his team.

“At one point, he discovered his team was running out of ammunition and coordinated an aerial resupply at two locations placing desperately needed munitions within 50 feet of the endangered service members,” the statement said.

Despite pleas from his teammates to take cover, McKenna rushed into the “kill zone,” exposing himself to heavy fire in order to control airstrikes that were within about 600 yards of him, the statement said.

The airstrikes gave the team a chance to move up the mountain for an emergency pickup.

Placing resupplies within 50 feet of defenders and placing ‘splodies only 600 yards from your position is a lot more difficult than it might sound to the uninitiated, especially when the person directing those aircraft to deliver that hardware is himself being shot at. Combat controllers are near the top of a long list of “Friends of Infantry”.

Category: Air Force