Thank you so much for your service, Captain Crawford. A special thank you for your family and loved ones that wait for you at home for their patriotism and generosity.
Air Force Capt. Kristen D. Duncan:"Captain Crawford repeatedly and conspicuously disregarded his own safety to assist his United States and Afghan teammates," Schwartz said at today’s ceremony. "It is not hard to be utterly impressed by his bravery and inspired by his selflessness."
"Crawford braved effective enemy fire and consciously placed himself at grave risk on four occasions while controlling over 33 aircraft and more than 40 airstrikes on a well-trained and well-prepared enemy force,” his award citation reads. “His selfless actions and expert airpower employment neutralized a numerically superior enemy force and enabled friendly elements to exfiltrate the area without massive casualties."
The team of about 100 personnel flew into the steep mountains of Laghman province early May 4, 2010. As soon as they were on the ground, they heard enemy chatter on the radios. Within 30 minutes, they found a substantial weapons cache inside the village. The enemy force apparently was dug in to defensive positions, waiting for the sun to rise before beginning their assault on the coalition force.
"As soon as the sun came up, we started taking extremely heavy enemy fire," Crawford said in an interview. "Our placement in the middle of the village, and the enemy's superior fighting positions, required us to 'run the gauntlet' of enemy fire no matter where we were in the valley."
Enemy fighters were expertly using sniper and medium machine-gun fire to target the force as insurgents were closing in on their location from all sides. Five commandos were wounded in the assault.
"Recognizing that the wounded Afghan soldiers would die without evacuation to definitive care, Captain Crawford took decisive action and ran out into the open in an effort to guide the [medical evacuation] helicopter to the landing zone," according to the citation. "Once the pilot had eyes on his position, Crawford remained exposed, despite having one of his radio antennas shot off mere inches from his face.
"Acting without hesitation,” the citation continues, “Crawford then bounded across open terrain, engaging enemy positions with his assault rifle and called in AH-64 strafe attacks to defeat the ambush."
When the weather cleared, the team moved along the steep terrain. To allow his team to freely move in the open and prevent further casualties, Crawford coordinated the delivery of danger-close AH-64 Apache Hellfire missiles, and 500- and 2,000-pound joint direct attack munition bombs from F-15E Strike Eagles.
"Everyone there was on task and wanted to crush the enemy," Crawford said. "My teammates went above and beyond, and everyone's efforts really re-energized the entire assault force's morale."
As the U.S. and Afghan commandos left the burned-out village, Crawford's team once again came under attack. Stuck in an open, narrow valley with 300- to 500-foot sheer mountain cliffs around them, the team was forced to hold their position in poor weather conditions.
With the enemy merely 150 meters away, Crawford repeatedly called for danger-close 30 mm strafing, and rocket attacks from AH-64 Apaches overhead. To mark the enemy locations, Crawford ran into the open to engage the enemy while continuing to direct Apache airstrikes.
"The Apaches were our lifeline," Crawford said. "They were consistently engaging. It was a battle of survival for us, and they unleashed hell on the enemy."
The original mission was to collect intelligence from a remote village sympathetic to the Taliban. However, the village had been burned prior to their arrival. Their mission quickly turned into a battle for survival, which was remarkably successful. The special operations team suffered two Afghan commando casualties, but more than 80 insurgents were killed during the engagement, including three high-ranking enemy commanders...." (Read more? Click title)
"Unapologetically pursuing and tracking patterns within the news others make since 2010."
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