Combat Control Air Force Cross Awardees

This decoration was established by Congress, Public Law 88-593, on July 6, 1960, amended Section 8742 of Title 10, U.S. Code to change the designation of "Distinguished Service Cross" to "Air Force Cross" in case of awards made under Air Force Authority. This cross, therefore, is the Air Force version of the Distinguished Service Cross. It is awarded for extraordinary heroism, not justifying the award of a Medal of Honor, to any person, who while serving with the U.S. Air Force while engaged in military operations involving conflict with an opposing foreign force, or while serving with friendly foreign forces engaged in conflict against an opposing Armed Force in which the United States in not a belligerent party.

John Chapman became the first U.S. Air Force Combat Controller to earn the Air Force Cross in any war in history. During the 17-hour engagement called the "Battle of Robert's Ridge," he was one of TWO Airmen posthumously awarded the Air Force Cross. Eight other Airmen received Silver Stars for this action. The battle was so-named because it followed an incident in which Navy Seal Neil Roberts fell from a helicopter as it attempted to land on a mountaintop controlled by al Qaeda fighters, initiating an intense and heroic rescue effort.

Awarded posthumously for actions during the Global War on Terror

The team leader was shot in the leg, and the remaining ten-man team was trapped in a building with no escape route. Assigned as the joint terminal attack controller to an Army Special Forces detachment, Gutierrez's job was to call in air support for his teammates. During the firefight, he was shot in the chest and suffered a collapsed lung. Still, Gutierrez continued to return fire while calling in precision strafing runs from an A-10 Thunderbolt II nearby. Though bleeding out and struggling to inhale enough oxygen to breathe, let alone speak into his radio, death was not on his mind, he said.

A higher power had to be watching over the team of Afghan commandos and U.S. military special operators as they made their way into a village near Laghman province, Afghanistan, before dawn May 4, 2010. That’s the only way Capt. Barry F. Crawford Jr., a special tactics officer, can explain how he and the rest of his band of brothers survived 14 hours of hell that killed two Afghan members of the team and wounded three other Afghans.

The CCSHF is responsible for the Air Force Cross Bronze Bust's and Display,along with The Silver Star Wall.

CCSHF Newsletter concerning above display, Click Here

Above; Four bronze busts in the likeness of Air Force Cross recipients were unveiled at a ceremony honoring the Airmen Dec. 6, 2012, at the Combat Control School at Pope Field, N.C. Two of the four recipients, Capt. Barry Crawford and Staff Sgt. Robert Gutierrez, were in attendance as well as the widow and the mother of Tech. Sgt. John Chapman who was awarded the Air Force Cross posthumously.

by Maj. Lisa Ray
440th Airlift Wing Public Affairs

12/18/2012 - POPE FIELD, N.C. (AFNS) -- Four bronze busts in the likeness of Air Force Cross recipients were unveiled during a ceremony here honoring the Airmen at the Combat Control School Dec. 6.

The busts honor Capt. Barry Crawford, Tech. Sgt. John Chapman, Staff Sgts. Robert Gutierrez and Zach Rhyner. Crawford and Gutierrez were in attendance as well as Chapman's widow and mother. He was awarded the Air Force Cross posthumously.

Chapman was a Combat Controller who was killed in Afghanistan in 2002. Crawford is a special tactics officer who engaged in a 10-hour battle with insurgents in Afghanistan in 2010 and Guitierrez and Rhyner are Combat Controllers who battled Afghan insurgents for more than 6.5 hours in 2009.

"Nowhere else in the Air Force will you find a memorial like this," said Col. Robert Armfield, the 24th Special Operations Wing commander and guest speaker for the event.

The ceremony was as unique as the exhibit. When it was time to learn about the heroic actions that warranted the award of the Air Force Cross, combat conrol instructors appeared out of the shadows in full combat gear and recited from memory accounts of those fateful days.

"This display will serve as a permanent reminder to all the Airmen, families and public which pass through these halls of the sacrifices and heroism of those that have come before them," Armfield said.

The Air Force Cross was established by Congress in July 1960. It recognizes individuals for extraordinary heroism and is second only to the Medal of Honor.

"This is a great day for the Air Force the Airmen at Pope Field," said Brig. Gen. Norman Ham, the 440th Airlift Wing commander. "It is important for people to remember that not only are there still Airmen at Fort Bragg, but that heroes are trained here, and this school is something to be proud of."

The busts were donated by the Combat Control School Heritage Foundation and were funded by the Combat Control Association, private donors and the CCS Heritage Foundation.

The Air Force Cross display is now a part of the school's museum maintained by the CCS Heritage Foundation and the Combat Control Association. The museum is an extension of the Air Force museum at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, Ohio. Historian Ron Brown is the volunteer curator.

More information about the Combat Control School Heritage Foundation can be found at www.ccshf.org.



Just click on any of the pictures below for more information about their life saving decisions, Combat Control In Action!
	Action Date: March 4, 2002 Rank: Technical Sergeant Company: 24th Special Tactics Squadron Division: Pope Air Force Base, North Carolina	John Chapman became the first U.S. Air Force Combat Controller to earn the Air Force Cross in any war in history. During the 17-hour engagement called the "Battle of Robert's Ridge," he was one of TWO Airmen posthumously awarded the Air Force Cross. Eight other Airmen received Silver Stars for this action. The battle was so-named because it followed an incident in which Navy Seal Neil Roberts fell from a helicopter as it attempted to land on a mountaintop controlled by al Qaeda fighters, initiating an intense and heroic rescue effort. Awarded posthumously for actions during the Global War on Terror
	Action Date: 6-Apr-08 Rank: Staff Sergeant Company: 21st Special Tactics Squadron Division: Pope Air Force Base, North Carolina	In 2002 Technical Sergeant John Chapman became the first U.S. Air Force Combat Controller to receive the Air Force Cross in any war in history. When Zachary Rhyner became the third, and only living Air Force Cross recipient in the Global War on Terrorism, he became the only living Combat Controller to wear the Air Force Cross.
	Action Date: October 5, 2009 Rank: Staff Sergeant Company: 21st Special Tactics Squadron Division: Pope Air Force Base, North Carolina	The team leader was shot in the leg, and the remaining ten-man team was trapped in a building with no escape route. Assigned as the joint terminal attack controller to an Army Special Forces detachment, Gutierrez's job was to call in air support for his teammates. During the firefight, he was shot in the chest and suffered a collapsed lung. Still, Gutierrez continued to return fire while calling in precision strafing runs from an A-10 Thunderbolt II nearby. Though bleeding out and struggling to inhale enough oxygen to breathe, let alone speak into his radio, death was not on his mind, he said.
	Action Date: May 4, 2010 Rank: Captain Company: 21st Special Tactics Squadron Division: Pope Air Force Base, North Carolina	A higher power had to be watching over the team of Afghan commandos and U.S. military special operators as they made their way into a village near Laghman province, Afghanistan, before dawn May 4, 2010. That’s the only way Capt. Barry F. Crawford Jr., a special tactics officer, can explain how he and the rest of his band of brothers survived 14 hours of hell that killed two Afghan members of the team and wounded three other Afghans.