Page 7 - DFCS News Magazine Summer 2015

Volume 15, Issue 2 - Summer
Women of the DFC cont’d
“...for heroism or extraordinary achievement in aerial flight”
date; since she was captured and became a pris- oner of war on February 27th 1991 when the Blackhawk helicopter she was serving on was shot down while on a search & rescue mission seeking a downed F-16 pilot. She was subse- quently awarded the Dis nguished Flying Cross for her ac ons.
The President of the United States takes great pleasure in presen ng the Dis n- guished Flying Cross to Captain Michael J. Stock for heroism while par cipa ng in aerial ight as A-10C Pilot, 75th Expedi onary Fight-
er Squadron, 451st Expedi onary Opera ons Group, 451st Air Expedi onary Wing, Kandahar Air Base, Af- ghanistan on 2 December 2010. On that date, Captain Stock displayed exemplary gallantry as Flight Lead of two A-10s providing close air support for 75 emba led coali on forces. While conduc ng overwatch of ma- neuver elements, Captain Stock located an insurgent scou ng the coali on posi on. In order to negate the possibility of civilian casual es due to air delivered re, he quickly talked a sniper team onto the enemy posi- on, enabling them to neutralize the threat with organ- ic assets. Soon therea er the enemy ambushed the coali on force with a barrage of rocket propelled gre- nades and machine gun re from mul ple direc ons and distances as close as 30 meters. Within seconds, Captain Stock coordinated with the Joint Terminal A ack Controller for mul ple strafe a acks and, in or- der to mi gate the risk to friendly forces and increase the accuracy of his re, elected to engage from low al - tude along
a restricted
axis render-
ing himself
predictable
to enemy
ghters
observed
to be ring
at his air-
cra . Ul mately he led the ight through 13 strafe a acks, expending 2,300 rounds of 30 millimeter bul- lets onto four enemy loca ons of which he personally executed seven a acks and expended 1,150 rounds re- sul ng in 32 enemy killed with zero coali on losses. Captain Stock’s ability to deliver devasta ng repower in close proximity to friendly forces, without regard to his own safety, saved the lives of 50 Marines and 25 United States Special Forces Soldiers and Airmen. The outstanding heroism and sel ess devo on to duty dis- played by Captain Stock re ect great credit upon him- self and the United States Air Force.
Since 1993, the Society is uncertain of exactly how many women have been awarded the DFC but we do know that there are more than a doz- en which are now members of our organiza on. The Society recognizes their aerial achieve- ments and the challenging paths they chose to walk that gained them recogni on through their award of the Dis nguished Flying Cross.
We are incredibly proud of our female mem- bers, who cover a broad spectrum of service; ranging from in your face gun ghters, astro- nauts, medical personnel, to excep onal elec- tronic warfare o cers. Come to Dallas in Sep- tember of 2016 to be part of unique gathering, meet these incredible women in person, and join us as we render honors to their achieve- ments.
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