No Mean Feat Earns DFCs

Sept. 14, 2005

Audio of this article is brought to you by the Air & Space Forces Association, honoring and supporting our Airmen, Guardians, and their families. Find out more at afa.org

Six Air Force Reserve Command airmen on Monday received Distinguished Service Crosses for their actions in landing their C-130 airlifter safely after it was struck by enemy ground fire in Iraq on Oct. 26, 2004. The aircrew from the 440th Airlift Wing, Milwaukee, Wisc., saved their aircraft, themselves, and 57 soldiers on board. The enemy fire burst the No. 1 engine into flames and caused the aircraft lost fuel, oil, electrical power, and structural components. The fire spread, engulfing the wing. The Reservists, who also earned the AFA Outstanding Reserve Aircrew Award, are: Lt. Col. John Loranger, Maj. Rolf Breen, Capt. Jason Schroeder, MSgt. James Grigsby, TSgt. Robert Sczesny, and SSgt. Daniel Hayes.

Audio of this article is brought to you by the Air & Space Forces Association, honoring and supporting our Airmen, Guardians, and their families. Find out more at afa.org

Trending Stories

What to Watch as Lawmakers Race to Pass 2026 Defense Budget by Jan. 30

Space Force Sets Mandatory Wear Date for PT Uniform, Service Dress Remains Optional

Air Force Clamps Down on Airmen Walking with Phones

DOD Task Force Moves Closer to Launching a Counter-Drone Shopping Site

Related

Gene Smith, Former POW and AFA Chair, Dies at 91 

Jan. 19, 2026
Lt. Col. Richard “Gene” Smith, who overcame five and a half years as a prisoner of war in the notorious Hanoi Hilton from 1967 until 1973, died Jan. 16. He was one day short of his 91st birthday.

What to Watch as Pentagon Implements AI, Innovation Reforms 

Jan. 17, 2026
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth last week released strategies meant to focus the Pentagon’s “alphabet soup” of innovation organizations and proliferate artificial intelligence—moves that experts say could provide the structure needed to make the military’s efforts to integrate and field new technology more effective.

What to Watch as Lawmakers Race to Pass 2026 Defense Budget by Jan. 30

Jan. 15, 2026
House and Senate lawmakers say they’re hopeful Congress will pass a defense appropriations bill in the coming weeks to avoid a repeat of last fall’s government shutdown, with only having a handful of working days remaining before the Jan. 30 deadline. Yet legislations still have to release a compromise version of defense spending legislation, which will have to…

Future SOUTHCOM Boss Sees Need for More Resources

Jan. 15, 2026
The Trump administration’s new National Security Strategy released in November made it clear that the Western Hemisphere is the new priority theater for the Pentagon. To put that into action, U.S. Southern Command needs to grow, the Marine Corps general nominated to lead SOUTHCOM told lawmakers.