Air Force Master Sgt. Aaron Frederick and Staff Sgt. Bradley Mock and their Bronze Stars

Military Times reports that two airmen, Master Sergeant Aaron B. Frederick and Staff Sergeant Bradley D. Mock were awarded Bronze Star Medals with Valor and an Air Force Combat Action Medal and the Purple Heart for their actions while on patrol in Afghanistan on December 21st;

Both Frederick and Mock were on an outside-the-wire mission approximately three miles north of Bagram when their patrol was approached by a Taliban terrorist operating a motorcycle loaded with explosives, according to their award citation. Frederick, the team’s patrol leader, lunged toward the attacker, just 15 feet away.

The suicide bomber detonated his device, mortally wounding six airmen and critically injuring five others. Disoriented and badly burned, Frederick quickly came to and led the remaining survivors to establish a security perimeter in the area, and directed back-up forces to send in medical evacuation. He insisted that survivors receive treatment once the medevac arrived as he remained on the battlefield confirming all were accounted for, the citation continues.

In the meantime, Mock received cuts to his face and lost consciousness for a few minutes during the blast. When he woke up, Mock, a tactical security element radio telephone operator, called in for immediate assistance to the back-up security team while simultaneously administering triage to two severely wounded teammates. He also helped secure sensitive equipment and intelligence, the citation said.

Together, he and Frederick coordinated medevac and treatment for six wounded teammates, and the extraction of 12 personnel total within 40 minutes of the blast.

Category: Air Force