Photo By Rick Emert | Chief Warrant Officer Johnny Judd (center) and Capt. Randy James (left), receive the...... read more read more
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By Sgt. 1st Class Rick Emert
1st ACB, 1st Cav. Div. Public Affairs
CAMP TAJI, Iraq – Three AH-64D Apache pilots from the 1st Air Cavalry Brigade don't like to talk about the Air Medal with Valor awards they earned for their actions on Jan. 28.
The pilots, from 4th "Guns" Battalion, 227th Aviation, 1st ACB, 1st Cavalry Division, don't care so much about their heroics and even deny that they behaved heroically.
For now, the awards are a painful reminder about the loss of their comrades, Capt. Mark Resh and Chief Warrant Officer Cornell Chao – fallen heroes who made the ultimate sacrifice that day during fighting in An Najaf, Iraq.
There is no question however, that the actions of Chief Warrant Officer Johnny Judd, Chief Warrant Officer Jake Gaston and Capt. Randy James were heroic.
Judd and Gaston were the lead team with Resh and Chao as their wingman when the Apache crews were called in to support ground forces in An Najaf. There were more than 600 insurgents with small arms and rocket propelled grenades that were engaging the ground forces.
"They came in to the target area; they were talking to the (U.S. Air Force Joint Terminal Attack Controller)," said Maj. William Denny, executive officer for 4-227th. "Jake Gaston was obtaining just superb situational awareness of what was going on, but one thing we never got the picture of from any systems or any sources was actually what was on the ground.
"The radio came up; someone came on the net and said: 'Hey, you're taking fire; break left.' "So, (Judd) was breaking left and, on the video feed we saw, you could see the bongo truck that was shooting at him. The earth just erupted around it, and that was the engagement by Captain Resh and (Chief Warrant Officer) Chao that saved those guys both. They didn't know if they had battle damage or not. They broke left; they came back around and saw their wingman impact the ground."
Judd immediately got on the radio and alerted the JTAC and the 1st ACB tactical operations center that one of the aircraft was down.
"That gave us the upper hand. We called all of the aircraft in the sky. We got a hundred percent accountability of all of our aircraft except in Najaf, so we launched another Apache team to conduct battle handover," Denny said.
That team consisted of Chief Warrant Officer Zach Johnson and Capt. Randy James.
Meanwhile, Judd and Gaston remained on station.
"Heroically, they stayed on station as their weapons systems malfunctioned, but they rolled back in to re-engage anyway, because they knew their teammate was in trouble," Denny said. "When you listen to it on the tape, their commitment – their absolute commitment to their brothers – that's heroism.
"(Chief Warrant Officer) Gaston's only thought at that time was protecting his teammates. (Chief Warrant Officer) Judd's thoughts were a little bit more comprehensive. He knew that was a bad area," Denny explained. "So, he protected his airframe and his crewmate using his knowledge and experience as a pilot in command and got back in there. He re-engaged the target area with suppressive fires. Even though they were having weapons systems malfunctions, they still did not pull off the area. They adjusted what they were doing to cover their wingman as long as they could."
Judd calmly conducted battle handover to the team coming in, which included James and Johnson.
"He was doing a battle handover when (the team) was five minutes out, and Johnny Judd is just as calm as he can be explaining to them without emotion exactly what is happening, what they're doing, what they can expect, where they should go," Denny said. "It was just the interplay of professionals and how they react when they are in that situation. You know you have people who are absolute scientists, but they're there for their brothers. I don't know any other way to say that."
Gaston continued to talk to the JTAC about what was developing on the ground.
"He was increasing situational awareness with every transmission," Denny said. "Every time he talked, everybody else knew a little bit more about what was going on, about what to expect – developing the situation so that we could carry the day."
The crew's mission focus had changed from supporting the ground forces to protecting their wingman. Priorities always change when there is a downed aircraft. That switch in priorities was instantaneous, and it was seamless, Denny said.
James and Johnson, along with their wingman crew Chief Warrant Officer Eddie Roche and Capt. James Cahill, continued to fight the enemy forces, leaving the site once to rearm and then returning to engage the enemy forces.
James worked with Special Forces troops and the JTAC to determine coalition force and enemy positions. He led his team's attack that dismantled the enemy's defensive positions and set the conditions for follow-on teams to exploit, according to his award recommendation.
After expending all of his ammunition on enemy positions, he led his team back to the rearming point and then rejoined the fight.
James downplays his heroics, calling attention to Resh and Chao and to James' own wingman crew of Roche and Cahill.
"I'm no hero," James said. "I did what we were supposed to do. You look at those guys, Captain Resh and (Chief Warrant Officer) Chao – those guys are heroes. Those guys (Roche and Cahill) who were going in with a broken aircraft – those guys are heroes."
Soldiers talk about what makes a hero, and they study the Warrior Ethos as a model of how they should behave in combat, but the pilots from 4-227th lived the Warrior Ethos that day, Denny said.
"We preach the Warrior Ethos every day. Almost every one of the Soldiers in my battalion can tell you the Warrior Ethos," Denny said. "Those guys exemplified and lived it. When the chips were down and people were counting on them, they delivered. That's what it's about."
| Date Taken: | 06.24.2007 |
| Date Posted: | 06.25.2007 11:44 |
| Story ID: | 10957 |
| Location: | TAJI, IQ |
| Web Views: | 188 |
| Downloads: | 138 |
This work, ACB aviators honored with awards for valor, by Rick Emert, identified by DVIDS, must comply with the restrictions shown on https://www.dvidshub.net/about/copyright.
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