The President of the United States of America, authorized by Title 10, Section 8742, U.S.C, awards the Air Force Cross to Senior Airman Dustin H. Temple for extraordinary heroism in military operations against an armed enemy of the United States in Helmand Province, Afghanistan from 27 to 29 September 2014. On these days, while attached to a United States Special Forces team, Airman Temple displayed extraordinary bravery and complete disregard for his own life as he and his teammates assaulted an insurgent safe haven.

As overwhelming hostile fire continually suppressed his team, Airman Temple broke the assault on many occasions with danger close air support from F-16s, AH-1s, AC-130s and an MQ-1.  Following a teammate being gravely wounded by a sniper, he put himself directly in the line of fire, and dragged his wounded teammate from the rooftop.  With the evacuation helicopter inbound, Airman Temple again risked his own life to save his teammate, by carrying him across one hundred meters of open terrain.  Despite overwhelming and accurate enemy machine gun fire, he remained on the open landing zone, providing covering fire while his teammates pulled back.  After he returned to the compound, enemy fighters surged within 40 meters after intercepted communications stated, “Take the Americans alive.”  Airman Temple immediately directed F-16s in danger close strafing runs, killing one insurgent and repelling the assault.  As supplies dwindled, he braved open terrain again to retrieve critical ammunition from a resupply helicopter.  With continuous machine gun fire, he and a teammate sprinted into the open and dragged the supplies off the aircraft; however, unable to carry the entire load, they withdrew back to cover.  Airman Temple called in danger close fires from F-16s to cover his team as they went out to retrieve the remaining ammunition.  Despite the continuous machine gun fire, Airman Temple and two teammates again ran into open terrain to retrieve the remainder of the supplies for a second time.  At the end of the 48-hour engagement, he controlled 28 attack helicopters and 20 fixed wing assets for a total of 26 engagements while safely employing munitions at danger close range 75 times.  Airman Temple’s heroic and selfless actions directly resulted in confirmed 10 enemy fighters killed, and another eight estimated killed, while saving the lives of 38 friendly forces.  Through his extraordinary heroism, superb Airmanship, and aggressiveness in the face of the enemy, Airman Temple has reflected the highest credit upon himself and the United States Air Force.

Special Tactics Airmen to receive high medals of valor
Pope Army Airfield, N.C. -- One U.S. Air Force Special Tactics Airman from 21st Special Tactics Squadron, 24th Special Operations Wing, will receive the Air Force Cross, and two Special Tactics Airman, 21 STS, will receive the Silver Star for courageous actions during a 48-hour battle against nearly 100 insurgents in Afghanistan while embedded with a U.S. Army Special Forces team, here May 6, 2015.

The ceremony, officiated by U.S. Air Force Lt. Gen. Bradley A. Heithold, commander of Air Force Special Operations Command, will take place at 10 a.m. on Pope Army Airfield, and will include special remarks from U.S. Navy Vice Adm. Sean A. Pybus, deputy commander of Special Operations Command, and U.S. Army Capt. Evan Lacenski, 7th Group Special Forces, Special Forces team leader for the three Combat Controllers.

These Special Tactics Combat Controllers are credited with saving the lives of 38 coalition soliders when ammo was low and nearly 100 insurgents surged to capture the team. Senior Airman Dustin Temple will receive the Air Force Cross, and Tech. Sgt. Matthew Greiner and Senior Airman Goodie Goodman will receive the Silver Star.
Temple (pictured above) is one of seven Airmen to receive the second highest valor award in the global war on terror. This is the second battle in the last 15 years of U.S. Air Force history that has resulted in multiple decorations of the highest valor.


The Air Force Cross is the highest service-specific medal an Airman can receive, second only to the Medal of Honor. The Silver Star is the U.S. military’s third highest military decoration for valor.
An award for valor second only to the Medal of Honor will go to a Fort Bragg airman next week.

Senior Airman Dustin H. Temple (pictured right) will receive the Air Force Cross for extraordinary heroism while pitted against enemy fighters in Helmand province, Afghanistan, in September.

Temple is a member of the 21st Special Tactics Squadron, based at Pope Field.

Two other members of the squadron, all Combat Controllers, also will be honored for the same 48-hour battle.

Tech. Sgt. Matthew J. Greiner and Senior Airman Goodie Goodman will each receive the nation's third-highest award for valor, the Silver Star.

According to officials, it will be only the second time the Air Force will award multiple Silver Stars and higher for the same event since Sept. 11, 2001.
An award for valor second only to the Medal of Honor will go to a Fort Bragg airman next week.

Senior Airman Dustin H. Temple will receive the Air Force Cross for extraordinary heroism while pitted against enemy fighters in Helmand province, Afghanistan, in September.

Temple is a member of the 21st Special Tactics Squadron, based at Pope Field.

Two other members of the squadron, all Combat Controllers, also will be honored for the same 48-hour battle.

Tech. Sgt. Matthew J. Greiner and Senior Airman Goodie Goodman will each receive the nation's third-highest award for valor, the Silver Star.

According to officials, it will be only the second time the Air Force will award multiple Silver Stars and higher for the same event since Sept. 11, 2001.

The three medals will be presented by Air Force Lt. Gen. Bradley A. Heithold, commander of Air Force Special Operations Command, during a ceremony Wednesday on Pope Field.

Navy Vice Adm. Sean A. Pybus, deputy commander of U.S. Special Operations Command, and Army Capt. Evan Lacenski, leader of the 7th Special Forces Group team that all three airmen served with, are scheduled to speak.

The three airmen are credited with saving the lives of 38 coalition soldiers who were low on ammunition and under attack by nearly 100 insurgents, according to the 24th Special Operations Wing, the higher command of the 21st Special Tactics Squadron.

According to medal citations, the men disregarded their own lives to save the members of their team.
Counter assault
Temple is credited with coordinating a counter assault involving F-16 Fighting Falcon jets, AH-1 Cobra attack helicopters, AC-130 Spectre gunships and an MQ-1 Predator unmanned aerial vehicle.

He also risked his life to save a teammate who was gravely wounded by a sniper, dragging the wounded man from a rooftop and then carrying him over more than 300 feet of open terrain to reach a medical evacuation helicopter.

Temple (pictured left) then remained in the open, providing cover for the helicopter, before returning to the compound where the rest of his team were fighting advancing insurgents.

According to intercepted communications, the enemy fighters were instructed to "Take the Americans alive."

Temple fought off the assault with air assets.

Then, with supplies dwindling, he again bounded across open terrain to retrieve ammunition from incoming aircraft.

While Temple fought on one side of the Helmand River Valley, Goodman and Greiner were in another position with more U.S. troops and Afghan commandos.

Within minutes of the assault, which started Sept. 27, Greiner had engaged enemy fighters by directing A-10 Warthogs and AH-64 Apache helicopters.

During the battle, Greiner led defensive air strikes, all while rocket-propelled grenades and machine gun fire erupted from all directions.

Greiner focused his efforts on halting the enemy advance, calling in four 500-pound bombs from a pair of F-16s, coordinating Hellfire missiles and strafing runs from Apaches on motorcycle-riding enemy fighters and then directed an AC-130 to stop a potential suicide attack.

Rooftop position

At the same time, Goodman also controlled F-16s and Apaches from a nearby rooftop, where enemy machine gun fire regularly struck a wall within inches of his head.

Goodman stayed in the position, using it to help repel the assault and subdue enemy snipers.

At one point, he directed the loud AC-130 gunships to fly out of audible range to draw the enemy out of hiding before bringing the planes back in to assault them.

Officials said the deployment was the second for Temple, fifth for Greiner and first for Goodman.

Air Force Cross, Silver Stars presented to three Fort Bragg airmen
Three Fort Bragg airmen received some of the military's highest awards for valor Wednesday when they were recognized for their efforts during a 48-hour battle in Afghanistan last fall.
 
Senior Airman Dustin H. Temple received the Air Force Cross, his service's highest award and the nation's second-highest award for valor, below only the Medal of Honor.
 
Tech. Sgt. Matthew J. Greiner and Senior Airman Goodie J. Goodman each received the Silver Star.

According to officials, it was only the second time the Air Force has awarded multiple Silver Stars and higher for the same event since Sept. 11, 2001.

All three airmen are Combat Controllers with the 21st Special Tactics Squadron based at Fort Bragg's Pope Field.
Officials said all three are preparing to deploy again.

On Sept. 27, the airmen were deployed alongside a detachment from the 7th Special Forces Group when they, along with Afghan commandos, conducted a mission meant to disrupt insurgents in Helmand province.

The detachment commander, Capt. Evan A. Lacenski, said the troops knew it would be a difficult fight, but he said what they encountered was the toughest battle many had ever been in.

Within hours, they found themselves low on ammo and under attack by nearly 100 enemy fighters, who according to intercepted communications had planned to take the troops alive.

Lacenski said he thought that maybe the battle would be their last.

"I think everyone did," he said.

Instead, the three airmen saved the soldiers and their Afghan counterparts, going above and beyond the call of duty to coordinate air strikes, retrieve ammunition and move injured teammates.

Temple (pictured right) is credited with risking his life to save a Special Forces medic shot in the head by an enemy sniper. He then dragged the medic, Sgt. 1st Class Andy Weathers, from a rooftop and carried him across open terrain to reach a medical evacuation helicopter.

Lacenski said Weathers later died, but Temple's efforts helped ensure the medic's family was able to visit him in an Army hospital before he passed.

Throughout the two-day ordeal, the three airmen coordinated dozens of aircraft. So many, in fact, that some had to be turned away for lack of space in the air.

"It was the most hectic and chaotic two days of my life," Lacenski said.

The airmen themselves deflected the praise after receiving their medals.

They credited their training, which allowed them to stay focused in the chaos.

Vice Admiral Sean A. Pybus, deputy commander of U.S. Special Operations Command, called the battle a "case study of toughness, teamwork and commitment."

"Because of their actions, the coalition team won the fight and lived to fight again," he said.

Pybus was one of two three-star officers who attended the ceremony.

The other, the commander of Air Force Special Operations Command, Lt. Gen. Bradley A. Heithold, presided over the ceremony.

Heithold called it an honor to present the medals.

"Not everyone who serves in this country deserves to be called a hero," Heithold said. "You do."

And he thanked Lacenski for pushing to have the three honored.

The special operations community is hesitant to tout its own success, Heithold said. And the recognition is more special when it comes from outside.

"It feels really good when your joint partners trumpet your successes," he said.


Above; Senior Airman Goodie J. Goodman, left, Tech. Sgt. Matthew J. Greiner and Senior Airman Dustin Temple stand after their new valor awards were distributed on Wednesday at Pope Army Airfield in North Carolina. Temple received the rare Air Force Cross, while Greiner and Goodman received Silver Stars for their roles in fighting off a brutal ambush in Afghanistan in September 2014.



He saved 80 lives: Why not the Medal of Honor?

The Air Force is the only service that does not have a Medal of Honor in the Global War on Terror, and with another airman's heroic action in battle resulting in an Air Force Cross, experts are again asking: What does an airman have to do?

Senior Airman Dustin Temple, a Combat Controller with the 21st Special Tactics Squadron at Pope Field, North Carolina, showed extraordinary heroism in a September battle, repeatedly exposing himself to enemy fire to recover an injured soldier and resupply his team. He is the seventh airman to receive the Air Force Cross, the second-highest valor award, since 2001.

"Airman Temple's heroic and selfless actions directly resulted in confirmed 10 enemy fighters killed, and another eight estimated killed, while saving the lives of more than 80 friendly forces," his Air Force Cross citation states. "Through his extraordinary heroism, superb airmanship and aggressiveness in the face of the enemy, Airman Temple has reflected the highest credit upon himself and the United States Air Force."

Temple was originally nominated for the Silver Star, Air Force Special Operations Command spokeswoman 1st Lt. Katrina Cheesman said.

Air Force spokesman Lt. Col. Pete Hughes, speaking on behalf of other Air Force officials, said that Temple was still up for a Silver Star when his nomination landed before the three-person decorations board that met in mid-January. That board also considered the award nominations for Tech. Sgt. Matthew Greiner and Senior Airman Goodie Goodman, who also received Silver Stars for their bravery in the same September battle Temple fought in.

Hughes said that the board quickly decided all three airmen's heroism deserved recognition. But Temple's actions stood out as particularly remarkable, he said, and the board decided to recommend to Air Force Secretary Deborah Lee James that he receive the Air Force Cross.

The Air Force would not say whether the board considered recommending Temple for the Medal of Honor.

Defense Department spokesman Navy Lt. Cmdr. Nate Christensen said the Office of the Secretary of Defense did not receive a recommendation from James regarding a possible Medal of Honor for Temple.

Army Capt. Evan Lacenski, the leader on the mission and 7th Group Special Forces team leader, put Temple in for an award, and the determination was up to the Air Force. Lacenski said Temple needed to be recognized "like the American hero" he is.

"His citation is solid," said Doug Sterner, curator of the Military Times Hall of Valor and an expert on military awards who has testified before Congress on the topic. "He put himself in front of his buddy, dragged him across an open space. What does it take to get a Medal of Honor?"

The Air Force awarded four Medals of Honor for Korea, all to pilots, and 14 for the Vietnam War, all but three to pilots. There are only three living Air Force Medal of Honor recipients, with none for the current generation, Sterner said.

"Where is the Air Force Medal of Honor recipient for the next generation?" Sterner said. "I don't know why the Air Force isn't advocating for it."

The Air Force's strongest case for a Medal of Honor came in 2011, when then-Staff Sgt. Robert Gutierrez was awarded the Air Force Cross for a 2009 battle in Afghanistan, Sterner said. Gutierrez, also a Combat Controller, was deployed with a Special Forces team to target a Taliban commander in Afghanistan's Herat Province. The team infiltrated a village and came under fire from insurgents. Gutierrez covered for a soldier whose gun jammed, when a shooter on a rooftop shot Gutierrez in the left shoulder. Gutierrez fired back, killing the insurgent.

Gutierrez dropped to the ground, and tried to call for a medic but couldn't breathe because his lung had collapsed from the shot. A medic jammed a syringe in his chest to relieve pressure. While this happened, Gutierrez reached for his radio and called for airstrikes from nearby F-16s and directed danger-close air support from A-10s, before calling for his own evacuation helicopter.

When Gutierrez received the Air Force Cross, many in the Combat Control community asked why he wasn't considered for the highest valor award.

"I just think he did the job the medal was written for," Gene Adcock, president of the Combat Control School Heritage Foundation, said at the time.

But Sterner is unconvinced.

"What does any airman have to do?" he said. "There has not been an Air Force Medal of Honor for any action since the Vietnam War. It makes you really wonder what is going on within the Air Force."