Airmen upset that an entire C-17 crew except the maintainer received the Distinguished Flying Cross

[Celerity]

"He was practically Chewbacca in ‘A New Hope.'"

https://taskandpurpose.com/news/air-force-c-17-distinguished-flying-cross-afghanistan/



The Air Force recently honored four of its airmen for their performance during last year’s evacuation of Kabul, Afghanistan by awarding the Distinguished Flying Cross. But many airmen are fuming after noticing that one of the crew did not receive the prestigious award, despite playing a key part in the mission. That airman was the flying crew chief, Staff Sgt. Dennis Gonzales-Furman, of the 437th Aircraft Maintenance Squadron.



Gonzales-Furman and his fellow airmen were flying members of the Army’s 82nd Airborne Division to Kabul aboard a C-17 cargo jet on Aug. 15 when thousands of civilians breached the airfield at Kabul’s Hamid Karzai International Airport. The civilians were fleeing the Taliban, who had just seized control of the capital city. “The conditions that day were like none I had ever seen,” said the aircraft commander, Lt. Col. Dominic Calderon, of the 301st Airlift Squadron according to an Air Force press release. “The airfield was breached and there were mass crowds entering.”

Despite the pressure and chaos, Calderon, his fellow 301st squadron members 1st Lt. Kyle Anderson and Master Sgt. Silva Foster, Senior Airman Michael Geller of the 517th Airlift Squadron and Gonzales-Furman worked fast and managed to rescue 153 U.S. citizens, allied partners and Afghans. “The crew performed well under enormous pressure,” Calderon said. “I couldn’t be more proud of the way the entire crew operated.”

Lt. Col. Dominic S. Calderon, 301st Airlift Squadron chief of training; 1st Lt. Kyle Anderson, 301st AS assistant operations officer; Master Sgt. Silva Foster, 301st AS loadmaster; Senior Airman Michael Geller, 517th Airlift Squadron loadmaster; and Staff Sgt. Dennis Gonzales-Furman, 437th Aircraft Maintenance Squadron flying crew chief, stand during a ceremony honoring four of them as recipients of the Distinguished Flying Cross at Travis Air Force Base, Calif., Apr. 1, 2022. (Staff Sgt. Ryan Green/U.S. Air Force)

Calderon, Anderson, Foster and Geller were awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross, which is for service members who distinguish themselves in combat through heroism or extraordinary achievement in aviation. Though Gonzales-Furman did not receive the same medal, Calderon recognized his contribution to the mission. The crew chief “went so far above and beyond that evening,” the aircraft commander said at the award ceremony, according to The Vacaville Reporter. “If I had a game ball that night, I would have given it to him.”

snip

[Wingus Dingus]

1. Absolute bullshit--not giving him the same award because he's not a

formal member of the aircrew. Hope they fix this.

[Celerity]

2. Yes, it is ludicrous. It is like denying the head physio for a football team a winners medal if the

teams wins the EPL (or any league), or the Champions League, etc etc.

[Totally Tunsie]

3. Ridiculous. Plus, having Staff Sgt. Gonzales-Furman stand

with the four others as they received their medals was damn cruel. This needs to be rectified.

[mopinko]

4. yeah, that's cold.

fix this joe.