ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. — An instructor at Kirtland Air Force Base in Albuquerque has been honored for his part in a rescue helicopter’s extraction of an Army squad from a minefield in Afghanistan five years ago.
Master Sgt. Greg Gibbs on Friday was presented a Distinguished Flying Cross during a Friday ceremony that included the three-star general who leads the Air Education and Training Command.
The Albuquerque Journal reports that Gibbs was a door gunner on an HH-60 Pave Hawk helicopter that rescued soldiers who had been lured into the middle of a minefield.
The citation accompanying the award says Gibbs’ role during the 2011 rescue included providing guidance to the pilots, allowing the low-flying helicopter to fly backward without touching down on the minefield.
