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The Sheepdog
12 April 2011, 14:29
Congratulations on a job well done. Well deserved.

Eight Night Stalkers receive Distinguished Flying Cross160th Special Operations Aviation Regiment Public Affairs

JOINT BASE LEWIS-MCCHORD, Wash. (USASOC News Service, April 11, 2011) – Eight 160th Special Operations Aviation Regiment (Airborne) Soldiers received the Distinguished Flying Cross during a ceremony, April 11.

The award was presented for individual acts of heroism while flying and crewing Chinook helicopters during a single time-sensitive, high-priority mission in Afghanistan in 2009.

The nighttime mission demanded that they fly special operations forces directly to a known enemy location at low levels and high speeds to infiltrate and exfiltrate the operators while completely exposing themselves to direct enemy fire.

The Soldiers are:

•Chief Warrant Officer 4 Bernard Litaker, Jr.
•Chief Warrant Officer 3 Maciek Mankowski
•Chief Warrant Officer 3 Todd Peterson
•Staff Sgt. Benjamin Tate
•Staff Sgt. Stanley Yeadon
•Sgt. Jason Brown
•Sgt. Jeremy Gribble
•Spec. Matthew Jones
The DFC is awarded to any person who distinguishes himself by heroism or extraordinary achievement while participating in aerial flight.

Soldiers of this elite organization are known as Night Stalkers, a nickname derived from their unparalleled nighttime special operations aviation capabilities. They are entrusted with providing helicopter support to our nation’s most elite special operations forces around the world. 160th crews and support personnel have been continuously deployed in support of overseas contingency operations since October 2001.

--usasoc--

Sharky
12 April 2011, 14:35
Well done and congrats to all. NSDQ

Dark Helmet
12 April 2011, 14:54
Congrats. Studs. All of them.

Two years' time to process and award these decorations is simply inexcusable, classified missions or not.

jdogonroad
12 April 2011, 14:58
Great going! Well deserved, N.S.D.Q!

CCo275
12 April 2011, 15:02
OUTSTANDING! I would love to read the details of the event.

Little Fix
12 April 2011, 17:46
Baddasses doing hard work.

It's not often I'll praise the Chinook guys but when your friends get recognized it's a good thing. That CW4 has been around a long time...

Ole crusty bastard
12 April 2011, 17:49
Congrats. Studs. All of them.

Two years' time to process and award these decorations is simply inexcusable, classified missions or not.


X2.

jdogonroad
12 April 2011, 18:57
Baddasses doing hard work.

It's not often I'll praise the Chinook guys but when your friends get recognized it's a good thing. That CW4 has been around a long time...
I x2 that, but any Nightstalker gets under-recognized. So glad we're running out of names for buildings.

MPCOA
12 April 2011, 19:00
Congrats. Studs. All of them.

Two years' time to process and award these decorations is simply inexcusable, classified missions or not.

The military awards system is all kinds of jacked up.

Congrats to the studs

rgrdrew
12 April 2011, 19:05
Congrats to all of them! Awesome job!!

Rooprakoopa
13 April 2011, 01:17
Awesome job! And congrats to those pilots!

Ralphie
13 April 2011, 02:59
Congrats to the them all! Extremely well done!

The Fat Guy
13 April 2011, 06:53
Well Done Gentlemen, Well Done

x175Ranger
13 April 2011, 09:54
Excellent work gentlemen, that is f---king outstanding!

Typhoon
13 April 2011, 13:58
Congrats to the Nightstalkers. I'm sure that the awards are more than well deserved.

I am sorry to hear that it took so long for the recommendations to get processed.

NSDQ.

Left Coast
13 April 2011, 15:46
Well deserved! They did great work that night (and do every night).

Stallion
13 April 2011, 22:49
Great Job!!

CPTAUSRET
14 April 2011, 09:25
Well deserved!

Typhoonracer
3 May 2011, 18:51
Good Job Well past due!!