MACDILL AIR FORCE BASE, Fla. (USTCNS) --- It's not every day someone gets awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross. Nov. 1 marked one of those rare occasions when four KC-135 crewmembers received the award for their heroism during Operation Allied Force.
Capt. Clifton Janney, Maj. Kevin Torres, Capt. Russ O'Dell (all formerly of the 91st Air Refueling Squadron) and Staff Sgt. Matt DellaLucca were presented the DFC by Gen. Charles T. "Tony" Robertson Jr., commander in chief of U.S. Transportation Command and commander of Air Mobility Command, during a ceremony held in Hangar 3.
The DFC is awarded to any officer or enlisted person of the Armed Forces who has distinguished him or her self in actual combat in support of operations by heroism or extraordinary achievement while participating in an aerial flight.
"I know what these crews did that night took guts," said Brig. Gen. Chip Diehl, 6th Air Refueling Wing commander. "I'd bet they didn't think for a minute the risk they were taking. They just put their heads down and went in … to do what needed to be done. I salute Capt. Cliff Janney and his entire crew. They were well trained, combat ready and undaunted as they descended into harm's way to join a committed team to rescue one of our most precious, most cherished entities: a fellow comrade."
The crew was humbled by the presentation of the medal.
"Being a tanker guy and getting something like this is really a big deal. A lot of tanker crews will never get something like this," said DellaLucca, who is the second boom operator to receive the DFC since Desert Storm.
Janney, who is now stationed at Altus Air Force Base, Okla., said there were a lot of extraordinary missions during the Kosovo air campaign and a lot of selfless acts. "I don't know of any tanker crews who wouldn't have done the same thing we did," he said.
What they "did" was put themselves in danger to refuel two A-10s that were dangerously low on fuel.
Shortly after an F-117 went down behind enemy lines March 27, 1999, the A-10s were flying combat search and rescue missions along with a special operations-equipped MC-130. Since the MacDill tanker was the only tanker close enough to the air refueling track over Bosnia, they were directed by a NATO AWACS (Airborne and Warning and Control System aircraft) to head toward their location.
Making a rendezvous for refueling was difficult since neither the A-10s nor the KC-135 had on-board radar systems and the AWACS didn't seem to understand the urgency of the situation.
Capt. Russ O'Dell, 964th AWACS squadron at Tinker AFB, Okla., was the co-pilot and instructor pilot for the mission. "I was concerned about the NATO AWACS' inability to find the A-10s when they called and said they needed a vector to the tanker. Our navigator had been plotting where he was, so we just took the AWACS completely out of the loop and did their job."
Torres, the KC-135 navigator for the mission, made direct radio contact with the A-10s and plotted their location using a pre-determined "bull's eye position," a coordinate used for the rescue.
"These guys weren't going to make it out of there without gas if we didn't go in there and help them," said Torres, who is now retired and living in Melbourne, Fla. "The big decision there was to take the chance of having four of us go in there to save two guys and put ourselves at risk or not. It was almost like we didn't have to decide. Everybody knew that was the right thing to do."
After refueling the first A-10, the second needed a little more creative innovation to find the tanker. Once the second A-10 was in close proximity, the pilot dropped flares. Noticing the flares, Janney turned the KC-135 toward him and flashed the landing lights to signal their position. Because of malfunction in the A-10 refueling system, DellaLucca, still with the 91st Air Refueling Squadron, had to refuel both jets with the manual override system on the boom.
The action of the crew took their aircraft well below the minimum altitude for the refueling tracks. Now at a lower altitude, the crew was at risk of attack from surface-to-air missiles and closer to mountainous terrain.
"If we detected a surface-to-air missile launch, our plan was to turn away from the missile, retard the inboard engines, and hope we would sustain a survivable hit in the outboards," Janney said during a post-mission brief to Air Force officials.
Despite the risk, the crew decided to press on to help their fellow comrades.
"I was never so happy to see a tanker in my life. The evening was truly a shining example of America's airmen's ability to think on their feet, overcome adversity and finish the mission," said Maj. John Cherrey, one of the two A-10 pilots who received the fuel that night.
After the mission was complete, the crew realized the extent of their impact. Each of the A-10s took on 9,800 pounds of fuel - the maximum capacity is only 11,000 pounds.
"Those pilots were able to come home and not worry about what would've happened if we had not made it there. I think that's the best part and more than anything, that's what I'm going to remember," Torres said.
The Distinguished Flying Cross
This medal is awarded to any officer or enlisted man of the Armed Forces of the United States who shall have distinguished himself in actual combat in support of operations by "heroism or extraordinary achievement while participating in an aerial flight, subsequent to November 11, 1918."
The decoration may also be given for an act performed prior to November 11, 1918, when the individual has been recommended for, but has not received the Medal of Honor, Distinguished Service Cross, Navy Cross, or Distinguished Service Medal. (FROM THUNDERBOLT).
