Medford airman to get second highest medal for valor
By The Associated Pres
Posted: Mar. 4, 2009 3:27 p.m. Pope Air Force Base, N.C. - From flat on his back, Air Force Staff Sgt. Zachary Rhyner could see just enough of the valley to guide the F-15s flying thousands of feet above him in the mountains of Afghanistan.
Machine gun rounds smashed into rocks nearby and showered him with debris, and a bullet gorged a chunk of his thigh. Yet he calmly radioed pilots his "nine-line" - the formatted message needed to call in the strike. His artery wasn't hit. He would be fine, he thought, as long as insurgents didn't overrun his team trapped atop a 60 foot cliff.
For the next six hours, after the fighter jets couldn't push back insurgents, Rhyner stayed with an Army Special Forces team and a few dozen Afghan commandos to fight hundreds of insurgents in Shok Valley, considered a sanctuary for the Hezeb Islami al Gulbadin terrorist group.
Rhyner alone called in more than 150 rockets, a dozen 500-pound bombs, nine Hellfire missiles and one 2,000-pound bomb in a heroic battle that earned the 22-year-old Wisconsin native the Air Force Cross, the second highest medal for valor in the Air Force.
Commanders said his ability to stay calm during the fight last April and call in accurate airstrikes likely made the difference between victory and defeat - and most certainly saved his life and the lives of his teammates and Afghan allies.
Rhyner, from Medford, Wis., and assigned to the 21st Special Tactics Squadron at Pope Air Force Base, will be awarded the honor March 10.
"I am surprised that I am receiving the Air Force Cross seeing that the last two recipients were awarded them posthumously," he told The Associated Press in an interview this week.
Silver Stars, the Army's third-highest award for combat valor, were awarded to 10 Special Forces soldiers last year for the same battle.
The mission unfolded April 6 as three Special Forces teams and a company of Afghan commandos moved up a narrow cliff-side path to a village of thick-walled mud buildings.
Apache attack helicopters flying overhead saw insurgents running to fighting positions.
In an instant, the surrounding mountains and buildings erupted in an ambush, Rhyner said. More than 200 fighters opened up with rifles, rocket-propelled grenades, machine guns and AK-47s, according to Army estimates.
One of the team's interpreters fell to the ground with a head wound, while another bullet hit Rhyner's leg. The mission commander, Army Capt. Kyle Walton, ordered his men to fall back and told Rhyner to start bombing the houses where the insurgents were hiding.
"We had to pull the wounded guys and get behind as much cover as we can. But when we did that, we trapped ourselves on the cliff," Rhyner said.
Using the helicopter to mark the bigger targets, Rhyner alternated between firing his rifle at insurgents and rolling onto his back to communicate with the jet and helicopters pilots circling above that bombarded the area with a constant cycle of rockets, bombs and strafing runs.
Trapped on the cliff and outnumbered, half of the team was wounded, including four critically. Walton decided to pull back. Every time a bomb dropped, there was a lull in fire and the team decided to move between blasts.
One of Rhyner's final targets was a large house that overlooked the cliff where the team was trapped. Walton feared the insurgents might toss grenades down on them, so he ordered Rhyner to destroy it. Low on ammunition, the F-15s had only a 2,000-pound bomb - four times larger than the other bombs.
"What was going through my head was we don't have another option," Rhyner said. "We are still taking fire. We need it to stop. Bringing that in is the only option to getting the wounded guys out of there."
The bomb dropped and leveled the house, sending a massive cloud of dust and debris so thick Rhyner couldn't see more than a few inches in front of him.
"I think that was the moment when the insurgents we were fighting called time-out," Rhyner said.
It allowed the team to escape to the valley floor and into rescue helicopters.
The team and Afghan commandos saw two of their comrades killed and 15 wounded. Army officials estimate up to 200 insurgents died.
Lt. Col. Mike Martin, Rhyner's commander, said there was nothing but heroism on the cliff.
"Walton just had to give him his intent: Destroy all those buildings," Martin said. "(Rhyner) transformed the vague commander's intent and applied that (air) power against it. That is what saved their lives."
__________________ You don't scare me! Work on it!
Medford airman to get second highest medal for valor
By The Associated Pres
Posted: Mar. 4, 2009 3:27 p.m. Pope Air Force Base, N.C. - From flat on his back, Air Force Staff Sgt. Zachary Rhyner could see just enough of the valley to guide the F-15s flying thousands of feet above him in the mountains of Afghanistan.
Machine gun rounds smashed into rocks nearby and showered him with debris, and a bullet gorged a chunk of his thigh. Yet he calmly radioed pilots his "nine-line" - the formatted message needed to call in the strike. His artery wasn't hit. He would be fine, he thought, as long as insurgents didn't overrun his team trapped atop a 60 foot cliff.
For the next six hours, after the fighter jets couldn't push back insurgents, Rhyner stayed with an Army Special Forces team and a few dozen Afghan commandos to fight hundreds of insurgents in Shok Valley, considered a sanctuary for the Hezeb Islami al Gulbadin terrorist group.
Rhyner alone called in more than 150 rockets, a dozen 500-pound bombs, nine Hellfire missiles and one 2,000-pound bomb in a heroic battle that earned the 22-year-old Wisconsin native the Air Force Cross, the second highest medal for valor in the Air Force.
Commanders said his ability to stay calm during the fight last April and call in accurate airstrikes likely made the difference between victory and defeat - and most certainly saved his life and the lives of his teammates and Afghan allies.
Rhyner, from Medford, Wis., and assigned to the 21st Special Tactics Squadron at Pope Air Force Base, will be awarded the honor March 10.
"I am surprised that I am receiving the Air Force Cross seeing that the last two recipients were awarded them posthumously," he told The Associated Press in an interview this week.
Silver Stars, the Army's third-highest award for combat valor, were awarded to 10 Special Forces soldiers last year for the same battle.
The mission unfolded April 6 as three Special Forces teams and a company of Afghan commandos moved up a narrow cliff-side path to a village of thick-walled mud buildings.
Apache attack helicopters flying overhead saw insurgents running to fighting positions.
In an instant, the surrounding mountains and buildings erupted in an ambush, Rhyner said. More than 200 fighters opened up with rifles, rocket-propelled grenades, machine guns and AK-47s, according to Army estimates.
One of the team's interpreters fell to the ground with a head wound, while another bullet hit Rhyner's leg. The mission commander, Army Capt. Kyle Walton, ordered his men to fall back and told Rhyner to start bombing the houses where the insurgents were hiding.
"We had to pull the wounded guys and get behind as much cover as we can. But when we did that, we trapped ourselves on the cliff," Rhyner said.
Using the helicopter to mark the bigger targets, Rhyner alternated between firing his rifle at insurgents and rolling onto his back to communicate with the jet and helicopters pilots circling above that bombarded the area with a constant cycle of rockets, bombs and strafing runs.
Trapped on the cliff and outnumbered, half of the team was wounded, including four critically. Walton decided to pull back. Every time a bomb dropped, there was a lull in fire and the team decided to move between blasts.
One of Rhyner's final targets was a large house that overlooked the cliff where the team was trapped. Walton feared the insurgents might toss grenades down on them, so he ordered Rhyner to destroy it. Low on ammunition, the F-15s had only a 2,000-pound bomb - four times larger than the other bombs.
"What was going through my head was we don't have another option," Rhyner said. "We are still taking fire. We need it to stop. Bringing that in is the only option to getting the wounded guys out of there."
The bomb dropped and leveled the house, sending a massive cloud of dust and debris so thick Rhyner couldn't see more than a few inches in front of him.
"I think that was the moment when the insurgents we were fighting called time-out," Rhyner said.
It allowed the team to escape to the valley floor and into rescue helicopters.
The team and Afghan commandos saw two of their comrades killed and 15 wounded. Army officials estimate up to 200 insurgents died.
Lt. Col. Mike Martin, Rhyner's commander, said there was nothing but heroism on the cliff.
"Walton just had to give him his intent: Destroy all those buildings," Martin said. "(Rhyner) transformed the vague commander's intent and applied that (air) power against it. That is what saved their lives."
Outstanding. Congratulations Air Force Staff Sgt. Zachary Rhyner. Thank you for your fine service. Thanks Larry for this fine news. My Air Force veteran wife beamed with pride in the Air Force when I read it aloud.
Outstanding. Congratulations Air Force Staff Sgt. Zachary Rhyner. Thank you for your fine service. Thanks Larry for this fine news. My Air Force veteran wife beamed with pride in the Air Force when I read it aloud.
Thanks for sharing, Larry. So often, in the heat of battle, these valorous actions go unnoticed. I'm happy to hear the young man was recognized for his expert dedication to his jab, and his team. What a great read! I also would love to meet him, and shake his hand!
This is why need to pay tribute to these young soldiers, they never seem to give up. I also would like to shake the hand of this fine man. congrats to him.
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No free man shall ever be debarred the use of arms.
Thomas Jefferson
USAF SSgt to get second highest medal for valor 
