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 FORT
GEORGE G. MEADE, Md. —A UH-1Y Venom pilot received the
British Distinguished Flying Cross, Feb. 12, 2014 at the British
Embassy in Washington.
Capt. Brian Jordan, the second
Marine aviator to earn the medal since World War II, was
honored for his actions on June 21, 2012, while deployed in
Afghanistan.
“This has been a very amazing and
humbling experience for me,” Jordan said. “I really am
accepting this on behalf of my flight crew and all of the
maintainers who work tirelessly on keeping these aircraft
operating.
“Without them none of these actions would
have been possible.”
Jordan said he could not have
accomplished this award without the direct efforts of his
aircrew consisting of Capt. Joshua Miller, Gunnery Sgt.
Andrew Bond, Staff Sgt. Steven Seay and Cpl. Joshua
Martinez. The captain also attributes the support of Lt.
Col. Stephen Lightfoot and Capt. Frank Jublonski, the pilots
of the AH-1Z Viper Super Cobra accompanying them on the
mission.
“I am happy for him and anyone else who
could accomplish something like this,” Gunnery Sgt. Andrew
Bond, The crew chief during the mission, said. “I am very
proud of him.”
Jordan arrived on Camp Bastion,
Helmand Province, Afghanistan in late May 2012 with Marine
Light Attack Helicopter Squadron 469. Jordan and his flight
crew were tasked with a mission to support the British
Grenadier Guards.
“We worked together as a constant
combat crew, and I had become very used to working with
him,” Bond, with more than 14 years of experience, said.
“Still being a relatively young pilot, he was doing well and
was always open to listen to us.”
The squadron's
aircraft spent 40 minutes providing reconnaissance of
buildings surrounding the area the guardsmen were patrolling
and when requested supplied cover fire. Jordan and his
aircrew had depleted most of their fuel and spent ordinance
to suppress an enemy attack, which had pinned down the
British soldiers.
Jordan and his crew were preparing
to return to Bastion when they saw an explosion.
“I
remember the [joint tactical air controller] saying over the
radio, ‘Man Down, man down request immediate MEDEVAC,'”
Jordan said. “One of the guardsmen had stepped on an
[improvised explosive device]. He had lost a limb and was
going into shock.”
Capt. Jordan and his crew began
to discuss the situation and began preparing a medical
evacuation request form for higher headquarters.
“It
can be a little frustrating at times, but you have to follow
the orders you are briefed,” Bond said. “The end state was
somebody needs our help and you don't want to let them
down.”
They calculated it would take more than 30
minutes for another aircraft to come and pick up the two
wounded British guardsmen.
“I talked to the crew, and
we made the assessment that we were all comfortable with
going down to picking up the wounded soldier,” Jordan said.
“We then heard over the radio, that there was no time and he
won't make it
“We all agreed this is what we need to
do, we talked to our section leader and told him our
intention and he said they would provide cover fire as we
went down for the pick.”
Jordan landed between the
enemy and soldiers.
“Both Staff Sgt. Seay and I are
search and rescue qualified, so we began to rearrange and
prepare the inside of the aircraft the best we could,” Bond
said.
The aircrew landed in-between enemy fighters
and the British troops to pick up the British soldiers.
“The situation made it feel like we were on the ground
for an eternity,” Jordan said. “Even though we could not
have been on the ground for more than 10 seconds.
“Both aircraft were in a very low fuel state. We pulled full
torque and got the soldier back to Bastion for medical
attention.”
Both wounded British soldiers survived.
“I feel like we were just doing our duty,” Jordan said.
“We took the actions we needed to make sure we saved a
soldier's life. Do I think I went above and beyond? —No
absolutely not. “We are just doing our job to support all
the ground forces in any way possible.”
Jordan is
currently preparing to serve as a pilot instructor at Marine
Light Attack Helicopter Training Squadron 303 at Marine
Corps Base Camp Pendleton, Calif. Jordan will teach newly
commissioned pilots to operate the UH-1Y Venom.
“You
go through a lot of training to make sure you can make the
hard decision when things do not go the way you anticipate
Article and photo by U.S. Marine Corps Sgt. Justin M. Boling
Provided
through DVIDS
Copyright 2014
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