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Heroic Actions Under Enemy Fire Page 3 MAY 2013, VOL. 47, NO. 05 HeroicHeroic actionsactions underunder enemyenemy firefire Page 3 PILOTPILOT FORFOR AA DAY!DAY! AY OL O M 2013, V . 47, N . 05 FEATURES: Pg. 3: Heroic Actions Pg. 5: NDI life under lights Pg. 6: Pilot for a Day! Pg. 7: Spirit of A.C. part 3 And more... COVER: Sears, an explosive ordnance disposal technician with the 177th Fighter Wing, defused two improvised explo- sive devices and made five trips across open terrain un- der heavy enemy fire to aid a wounded coalition soldier and to engage insurgent forces. Photo by Master Sgt. Mark Olsen SOCIAL MEDIA Find us on the web! www.177thFW.ang.af.mil Facebook.com/177FW Twitter.com/177FW Youtube.com/177thfighterwing This funded newspaper is an authorized monthly 177TH FW EDITORIAL STAFF publication for members of the U.S. Military Services. Col. Kerry M. Gentry, Commander Contents of the Contrail are not necessarily the official 1st Lt. Amanda Batiz, Public Affairs Officer Master Sgt. Andrew Moseley, Public Affairs/Visual Information Manager view of, or endorsed by, the 177th FW, the U.S. Gov- Master Sgt. Shawn Mildren:, Photographer ernment, the Department of Defense or the Depart- Tech. Sgt. Andrew Merlock Jr., Photographer Tech. Sgt. Matt Hecht: Editor, Layout, Photographer, Writer ment of the Air Force. The editorial content is edited, prepared, and provided by the Public Affairs Office of 177FW/PA the 177th Fighter Wing. All photographs are Air Force 400 Langley Road, Egg Harbor Township, NJ 08234-9500 (609) 761-6259; (609) 677-6741 (FAX) photographs unless otherwise indicated. E-mail: [email protected] 1 The Contrail A Message from the ViceVice WingWing CommanderCommander So, there I was, the year was 1999, Luke AFB Arizona able to fly F-16s family housing, a bright, sunny, spring day (which any longer. Sec- equates to about 100ºF!), being told by my spouse Kim ond thought was it was time to put the steaks on the grill. I acted as my career in the though I was prepared, calmly grabbed the steaks she United States Air prepped for grilling, and scurried to the gas grill to begin Force was poten- the pre-heating process. I opened the top cover of the tially put in jeop- grill, turned the gas on at the propane cylinder, and be- ardy. Third gan to push the ignition button to light the burners. thought was dam- age to my vi- Click, click, click…..no flame. I try again and still, no sion…causing a flame. Feeling the pressure to impress Kim and give no possible inability to drive, possible blindness. What indication I was completely unprepared, I secretively impact would that have on my wife Kim, my two-year- scurry into the house to grab a long reach lighter to old daughter Brooke and me? manually create a flame to ignite the grill. I succeed, navigating back to the grill undetected in mere seconds. The Air Force 101 Critical Days of Summer Campaign I quickly extend the lighter to ignite the grill…BOOM!! begins May 24, 2013. This time of year should be fun My cranium immediately was engulfed in a ball of and enjoyable! Sun, beach, get the motorcycle on the flames. road, boating, fishing, family vacations, increased out- door activities, and yes grilling. Most summer activi- Fortunately for me, the result of the small explosion was ties are fun, but are riddled with hazards. There is no singed eyelashes, just about completely burnt-off eye- possible way I can review each and every hazard to brows, and a face that looked like it had a bad sunburn! you in this article. What I can do is ask each one of I was as bald then as I am now, so no issues with hair you to spend some time thinking of possible hazards loss! Initially, my greatest concern was my inability to associated with the activities you plan to partake in, conceal my gross grilling error to Kim…I could not therefore raising your awareness, and hopefully re- blame having no eye-brows on a shaving accident. As I ducing risk to injury. All I had to do was take a couple grilled the steaks (yes, I was not going to let a small ex- extra seconds to shut off the propane cylinder before plosion ruin dinner), I thought of the possible long-term scurrying into the house to get the lighter. Instead, consequences of my irresponsible actions. My first my hastiness put my entire way of life in jeopardy. thought was if I had damaged my vision, I would not be It is imperative that you, the Airmen of the 177th Fight- er Wing, mitigate these hazards, understand safety has a role in everything we do, not only on-duty, but off-duty as well. I ask you to commit to yourself, fami- ly, friends, and co-workers by preparing mentally for summer activities, and participating responsibly. Col Gentry and I would like to wish all of you an enjoy- able Memorial Day weekend and a fun-filled, yet safe 2013 Summer! John R. DiDonna Jr. Colonel, NJANG Vice Wing Commander The Contrail 2 HeroicHeroic actionsactions underunder enemyenemy firefire Story by Staff Sgt. Wayne Wooley, NJDMAVA PA When an explosive ordnance disposal team rolls out for a combat patrol, their objective is to defuse bombs and gather intelligence about the bomb- makers. It's not to engage the enemy. But as New Jersey Air National Guard Tech. Sgt. Mike Sears put it, sometimes, there's no choice. Sept. 29, 2012 was one of those days. A three-man Air Force EOD team led by Sears found itself in the middle of a complex ambush on a dusty road in Ghazni Province, Afghanistan. Over the course of a two-hour fire- fight, Sears provided life-saving aid to a fallen coalition sol- dier from Poland; ran five times through a 150-yard open ar- ea riddled with enemy machine gun fire to direct his team in returning fire; and continued on with the fight even after being knocked temporarily unconscious by a rocket-propelled gre- nade blast. Brig. Gen. Michael L. Cunniff, The Adjutant General, awarded Sears the Bronze Star and Purple Heart at a ceremony at the State House in Trenton. New Jersey Air National Guard Tech. Sgt. Michael In an interview, Sears, 36, credited his Afghan team, Staff Sears, left, is awarded the Bronze Star by Brig. Gen. Mi- Sgt. John Hurley, a fellow member of the 177th Fighter Wing, chael L. Cunniff, the adjutant general, at a ceremony and Staff Sgt. Josh Jerden, an active duty Airman, with fighting hard to allow them all to survive the ambush. April 17, 2013, at the State House in Trenton, N.J. On a single combat patrol in Afghanistan, Sears, an explosive On the day of the attack, Sears’s team had been on patrol ordnance disposal technician with the 177th Fighter with a team of 90 Polish infantrymen and sappers, also Wing, defused two improvised explosive devices and known as combat engineers or soldiers who perform various made five trips across open terrain under heavy enemy military engineering duties. They had come across a massive fire to aid a wounded coalition soldier and to engage in- improvised explosive device packed with 80 pounds of explo- surgent forces. Sears suffered a shoulder injury and ex- sives. After Sears had investigated, Hurley used a robot to pended more than 190 rounds from his M4 rifle during detonate the device. Sears went back to ensure the bomb the firefight. He was also awarded the Purple Heart. had been defeated and instead found two more devices trig- U.S. Air National Guard photo by Master Sgt. Mark C. gered by pressure plates. He was able to diffuse them on his own and collect evidence to be used to try to identify their Olsen 3 The Contrail manufacturer. Evidence collected, Sears's team and the On the day of the ambush, Sears expended 190 rounds. The Polish unit were preparing to return to their base when they two other members of his team expended even more. came under machine gun and rifle fire. After a short lull, an RPG round whistled past their vehicle, missing Hurley by two "Our main objective is not to engage the enemy," he said. feet and hitting a Polish vehicle, badly injuring one of the "But when they come after us, we have the training to re- Polish soldiers, a sapper Sears had grown close to during the spond." deployment. "I saw that RPG coming, but there was nothing we could do but hold on and pray," Sears said. When he realized the RPG had badly injured his friend, Sears took off through the machine gun fire to provide aid. It was clear that no one from the Polish team knew one of their men had been hit. As he pulled the 250-pound Polish soldier from the truck, Sears felt something in his shoulder tear. What Sears saw next helped him push through his pain. The explosion had severed the Polish soldier's leg. Sears propped up the Polish soldier with one arm, returned fire with his M4 and with the other arm tried to drag him out of the direct enemy fire. Sears helped the soldier to the ground and applied a tourniquet. Bullets were still landing all around them. Sears shielded his buddy with his body. "People have asked me how long I was on the ground with him and I tell them it felt like an hour with all those rounds coming in," Sears said.
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