{"id":80482,"date":"2026-07-13T15:53:13","date_gmt":"2026-07-13T15:53:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/airforcetimes\/uncategorized\/2026\/07\/13\/f-16-pilot-awarded-distinguished-flying-cross-for-bravery-in-saudi-arabia-deployment\/"},"modified":"2026-08-08T17:42:40","modified_gmt":"2026-08-08T17:42:40","slug":"f-16-pilot-awarded-distinguished-flying-cross-for-bravery-in-saudi-arabia-deployment","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/airforcetimes\/news\/your-air-force\/2026\/07\/13\/f-16-pilot-awarded-distinguished-flying-cross-for-bravery-in-saudi-arabia-deployment\/","title":{"rendered":"F-16 pilot awarded Distinguished Flying Cross for bravery in Saudi Arabia deployment"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The U.S. Air Force awarded its <a href=\"https:\/\/www.airforcetimes.com\/news\/your-air-force\/2026\/04\/02\/15-fairchild-airmen-awarded-for-refueling-roles-in-combat-operations\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"\" title=\"https:\/\/www.airforcetimes.com\/news\/your-air-force\/2026\/04\/02\/15-fairchild-airmen-awarded-for-refueling-roles-in-combat-operations\/\">highest honor<\/a> for <a href=\"https:\/\/www.armytimes.com\/news\/your-army\/2019\/12\/26\/rescue-swimmer-awarded-distinguished-flying-cross-for-swimming-through-hell-to-rescue-59-others\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"\">aerial achievement<\/a> to an F-16 pilot for his actions during a Saudi Arabia deployment last year.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Capt. Nathanial \u201cIcarus\u201d Welch received the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.militarytimes.com\/news\/your-military\/2026\/02\/05\/three-air-national-guard-pilots-awarded-top-flying-combat-honor\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"\">Distinguished Flying Cross<\/a> with Valor earlier this month for bravery and devotion to duty during his 2025 deployment, according to a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.dvidshub.net\/news\/569634\/18th-fis-pilot-receives-distinguished-flying-cross\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"\">release<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Welch, a pilot and chief of plans and programs in the 18th Fighter Interceptor Squadron, was deployed to Prince Sultan Air Base, Saudi Arabia, as an F-16 Fighting Falcon pilot with the 480th Expeditionary Fighter Squadron in April 2025.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">During an April 29, 2025, mission, Welch repeatedly flew into heavily defended airspace as he successfully evaded the three enemy and warned the formation of incoming threats.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">As Welch came within a few hundred feet of the explosions, he remained on station to protect coalition aircraft until the threat subsided, the release reads.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cCapt. Welch exemplifies everything the nation asks for in a fighter pilot escorting other combatants into a heavily defended enemy position,\u201d Air Force Col. Matthew Johnston, 354th Fighter Wing commander, said in the release.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cHe selflessly placed his aircraft between enemy missile systems and the aircraft he was protecting to ensure mission success and the survival of the force package,\u201d he continued.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The release did not provide details about the mission, but Welch\u2019s squadron at the time, known as the \u201cWild Weasel\u201d unit, was deployed to Saudi Arabia during Operation Rough Rider, which began mid-March 2025 against Iranian-backed Houthi rebels in Yemen.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Previous Air Force releases show that the 480th squadron <a href=\"https:\/\/www.af.mil\/News\/Article-Display\/Article\/4343837\/former-480th-efs-commander-awarded-silver-star-medal\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"\">participated<\/a> in Operation Rough Rider and that other members of the unit <a href=\"https:\/\/www.usafe.af.mil\/News\/Article-Display\/Article\/4429628\/spangdahlem-based-airman-awarded-silver-star-for-extraordinary-heroism-during-c\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"\">received<\/a> awards for their service in U.S. Central Command\u2019s area of responsibility.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Welch was given the award by Lt. Gen. Robert Davis, 11th Air Force commander, in a ceremony at Eielson Air Force Base, Alaska, the statement said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cIcarus, thanks for doing your job with excellence and valor in the face of danger,\u201d Davis said in the release. \u201cI know you would go back and do it again; I know all your wingmen would also have done the same. It is rare we get the opportunity to award an Airmen with the Distinguished Flying Cross with the Valor device, and you deserve it.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">A <a href=\"https:\/\/www.afpc.af.mil\/Fact-Sheets\/Display\/Article\/421931\/distinguished-flying-cross\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"\">Distinguished Flying Cross<\/a> is awarded heroism or extraordinary achievement during an aerial flight. The \u201cV\u201d device recognizes acts of heroism beyond normally expected while in direct combat against an armed enemy. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Capt. Nathanial \u201cIcarus\u201d Welch received the Distinguished Flying Cross with Valor for his actions during a 2025 Operation Rough Rider mission.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":7,"featured_media":111545,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_yoast_wpseo_meta-robots-noindex":"","_yoast_wpseo_meta-robots-nofollow":"","_yoast_wpseo_canonical":"","_acf":"","_yoast_wpseo_primary_category":67,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","_smg_distribution_targets":[]},"categories":[101,16,26,67],"tags":[],"coauthors":[3418],"class_list":["post-80482","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-daily-news-roundup","category-news","category-newsletters","category-your-air-force"],"acf":{"subheadline":"","legacy_arc_id":"X53ECININRDRDNQYGNTIJZ3B3A","arc_canonical_url":"\/news\/your-military\/2026\/07\/13\/f-16-pilot-awarded-distinguished-flying-cross-for-bravery-in-saudi-arabia-deployment\/","remove_feature_photo":false,"is_sponsored":false,"subtype":"","redirect_url":"","disable_inline_ads":false,"native_logo_pretext":"Presented By:"},"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO Premium plugin v26.0 (Yoast SEO v28.1) - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-premium-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>F-16 pilot awarded Distinguished Flying Cross for bravery in Saudi Arabia deployment - Air Force TImes<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Capt. Nathanial \u201cIcarus\u201d Welch received the Distinguished Flying Cross with Valor for his actions during a 2025 Operation Rough Rider mission.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"noindex, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"F-16 pilot awarded Distinguished Flying Cross for bravery in Saudi Arabia deployment\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Capt. Nathanial \u201cIcarus\u201d Welch received the Distinguished Flying Cross with Valor for his actions during a 2025 Operation Rough Rider mission.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/airforcetimes\/news\/your-air-force\/2026\/07\/13\/f-16-pilot-awarded-distinguished-flying-cross-for-bravery-in-saudi-arabia-deployment\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Air Force TImes\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2026-07-13T15:53:13+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2026-08-08T17:42:40+00:00\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Cristina Stassis\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Cristina Stassis\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"2 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\n\t    \"@context\": \"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\n\t    \"@graph\": [\n\t        {\n\t            \"@type\": \"Article\",\n\t            \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/airforcetimes\\\/news\\\/your-air-force\\\/2026\\\/07\\\/13\\\/f-16-pilot-awarded-distinguished-flying-cross-for-bravery-in-saudi-arabia-deployment\\\/#article\",\n\t            \"isPartOf\": {\n\t                \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/airforcetimes\\\/news\\\/your-air-force\\\/2026\\\/07\\\/13\\\/f-16-pilot-awarded-distinguished-flying-cross-for-bravery-in-saudi-arabia-deployment\\\/\"\n\t            },\n\t            \"author\": {\n\t                \"name\": \"migration\",\n\t                \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/airforcetimes\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/cc76c831bb37a926738c8391fca7a3b1\"\n\t            },\n\t            \"headline\": \"F-16 pilot awarded Distinguished Flying Cross for bravery in Saudi Arabia deployment\",\n\t            \"datePublished\": \"2026-07-13T15:53:13+00:00\",\n\t            \"dateModified\": \"2026-08-08T17:42:40+00:00\",\n\t            \"mainEntityOfPage\": {\n\t                \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/airforcetimes\\\/news\\\/your-air-force\\\/2026\\\/07\\\/13\\\/f-16-pilot-awarded-distinguished-flying-cross-for-bravery-in-saudi-arabia-deployment\\\/\"\n\t            },\n\t            \"wordCount\": 414,\n\t            \"commentCount\": 0,\n\t            \"publisher\": {\n\t                \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/airforcetimes\\\/#organization\"\n\t            },\n\t            \"image\": {\n\t                \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/airforcetimes\\\/news\\\/your-air-force\\\/2026\\\/07\\\/13\\\/f-16-pilot-awarded-distinguished-flying-cross-for-bravery-in-saudi-arabia-deployment\\\/#primaryimage\"\n\t            },\n\t            \"thumbnailUrl\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/08\\\/1000w_q95-26.webp_.jpg\",\n\t            \"articleSection\": [\n\t                \"Daily News Roundup\",\n\t                \"News\",\n\t                \"Newsletters\",\n\t                \"Your Air Force\"\n\t            ],\n\t            \"inLanguage\": \"en-US\",\n\t            \"potentialAction\": [\n\t                {\n\t                    \"@type\": \"CommentAction\",\n\t                    \"name\": \"Comment\",\n\t                    \"target\": [\n\t                        \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/airforcetimes\\\/news\\\/your-air-force\\\/2026\\\/07\\\/13\\\/f-16-pilot-awarded-distinguished-flying-cross-for-bravery-in-saudi-arabia-deployment\\\/#respond\"\n\t                    ]\n\t                }\n\t            ]\n\t        },\n\t        {\n\t            \"@type\": \"WebPage\",\n\t            \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/airforcetimes\\\/news\\\/your-air-force\\\/2026\\\/07\\\/13\\\/f-16-pilot-awarded-distinguished-flying-cross-for-bravery-in-saudi-arabia-deployment\\\/\",\n\t            \"url\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/airforcetimes\\\/news\\\/your-air-force\\\/2026\\\/07\\\/13\\\/f-16-pilot-awarded-distinguished-flying-cross-for-bravery-in-saudi-arabia-deployment\\\/\",\n\t            \"name\": \"F-16 pilot awarded Distinguished Flying Cross for bravery in Saudi Arabia deployment - Air Force TImes\",\n\t            \"isPartOf\": {\n\t                \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/airforcetimes\\\/#website\"\n\t            },\n\t            \"primaryImageOfPage\": {\n\t                \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/airforcetimes\\\/news\\\/your-air-force\\\/2026\\\/07\\\/13\\\/f-16-pilot-awarded-distinguished-flying-cross-for-bravery-in-saudi-arabia-deployment\\\/#primaryimage\"\n\t            },\n\t            \"image\": {\n\t                \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/airforcetimes\\\/news\\\/your-air-force\\\/2026\\\/07\\\/13\\\/f-16-pilot-awarded-distinguished-flying-cross-for-bravery-in-saudi-arabia-deployment\\\/#primaryimage\"\n\t            },\n\t            \"thumbnailUrl\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/08\\\/1000w_q95-26.webp_.jpg\",\n\t            \"datePublished\": \"2026-07-13T15:53:13+00:00\",\n\t            \"dateModified\": \"2026-08-08T17:42:40+00:00\",\n\t            \"description\": \"Capt. Nathanial \u201cIcarus\u201d Welch received the Distinguished Flying Cross with Valor for his actions during a 2025 Operation Rough Rider mission.\",\n\t            \"breadcrumb\": {\n\t                \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/airforcetimes\\\/news\\\/your-air-force\\\/2026\\\/07\\\/13\\\/f-16-pilot-awarded-distinguished-flying-cross-for-bravery-in-saudi-arabia-deployment\\\/#breadcrumb\"\n\t            },\n\t            \"inLanguage\": \"en-US\",\n\t            \"potentialAction\": [\n\t                {\n\t                    \"@type\": \"ReadAction\",\n\t                    \"target\": [\n\t                        \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/airforcetimes\\\/news\\\/your-air-force\\\/2026\\\/07\\\/13\\\/f-16-pilot-awarded-distinguished-flying-cross-for-bravery-in-saudi-arabia-deployment\\\/\"\n\t                    ]\n\t                }\n\t            ]\n\t        },\n\t        {\n\t            \"@type\": \"ImageObject\",\n\t            \"inLanguage\": \"en-US\",\n\t            \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/airforcetimes\\\/news\\\/your-air-force\\\/2026\\\/07\\\/13\\\/f-16-pilot-awarded-distinguished-flying-cross-for-bravery-in-saudi-arabia-deployment\\\/#primaryimage\",\n\t            \"url\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/08\\\/1000w_q95-26.webp_.jpg\",\n\t            \"contentUrl\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/08\\\/1000w_q95-26.webp_.jpg\"\n\t        },\n\t        {\n\t            \"@type\": \"BreadcrumbList\",\n\t            \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/airforcetimes\\\/news\\\/your-air-force\\\/2026\\\/07\\\/13\\\/f-16-pilot-awarded-distinguished-flying-cross-for-bravery-in-saudi-arabia-deployment\\\/#breadcrumb\",\n\t            \"itemListElement\": [\n\t                {\n\t                    \"@type\": \"ListItem\",\n\t                    \"position\": 1,\n\t                    \"name\": \"Home\",\n\t                    \"item\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/airforcetimes\\\/\",\n\t                    \"ad_zone\": \"home\"\n\t                },\n\t                {\n\t                    \"@type\": \"ListItem\",\n\t                    \"position\": 2,\n\t                    \"name\": \"News\",\n\t                    \"item\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/airforcetimes\\\/news\\\/\",\n\t                    \"ad_zone\": \"news\"\n\t                },\n\t                {\n\t                    \"@type\": \"ListItem\",\n\t                    \"position\": 3,\n\t                    \"name\": \"Your Air Force\",\n\t                    \"item\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/airforcetimes\\\/news\\\/your-air-force\\\/\",\n\t                    \"ad_zone\": \"your-air-force\"\n\t                },\n\t                {\n\t                    \"@type\": \"ListItem\",\n\t                    \"position\": 4,\n\t                    \"name\": \"F-16 pilot awarded Distinguished Flying Cross for bravery in Saudi Arabia deployment\"\n\t                }\n\t            ]\n\t        },\n\t        {\n\t            \"@type\": \"WebSite\",\n\t            \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/airforcetimes\\\/#website\",\n\t            \"url\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/airforcetimes\\\/\",\n\t            \"name\": \"Air Force TImes\",\n\t            \"description\": \"Independent News For Airmen | Air Force Times\",\n\t            \"publisher\": {\n\t                \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/airforcetimes\\\/#organization\"\n\t            },\n\t            \"potentialAction\": [\n\t                {\n\t                    \"@type\": \"SearchAction\",\n\t                    \"target\": {\n\t                        \"@type\": \"EntryPoint\",\n\t                        \"urlTemplate\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/airforcetimes\\\/?s={search_term_string}\"\n\t                    },\n\t                    \"query-input\": {\n\t                        \"@type\": \"PropertyValueSpecification\",\n\t                        \"valueRequired\": true,\n\t                        \"valueName\": \"search_term_string\"\n\t                    }\n\t                }\n\t            ],\n\t            \"inLanguage\": \"en-US\"\n\t        },\n\t        {\n\t            \"@type\": \"Organization\",\n\t            \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/airforcetimes\\\/#organization\",\n\t            \"name\": \"Air Force TImes\",\n\t            \"url\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/airforcetimes\\\/\",\n\t            \"logo\": {\n\t                \"@type\": \"ImageObject\",\n\t                \"inLanguage\": \"en-US\",\n\t                \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/airforcetimes\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/logo\\\/image\\\/\",\n\t                \"url\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/06\\\/air-logo-white.png\",\n\t                \"contentUrl\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/06\\\/air-logo-white.png\",\n\t                \"caption\": \"Air Force TImes\"\n\t            },\n\t            \"image\": {\n\t                \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/airforcetimes\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/logo\\\/image\\\/\"\n\t            }\n\t        },\n\t        {\n\t            \"@type\": \"Person\",\n\t            \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/airforcetimes\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/cc76c831bb37a926738c8391fca7a3b1\",\n\t            \"name\": \"migration\",\n\t            \"image\": {\n\t                \"@type\": \"ImageObject\",\n\t                \"inLanguage\": \"en-US\",\n\t                \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/9e8d47be443ce94ce7fc357677b5f9c70235bb1f59e7267a102a74af58c04f59?s=96&d=mm&r=gcf4cb6ee0ec29e49e7a963234e4340ec\",\n\t                \"url\": \"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/9e8d47be443ce94ce7fc357677b5f9c70235bb1f59e7267a102a74af58c04f59?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\n\t                \"contentUrl\": \"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/9e8d47be443ce94ce7fc357677b5f9c70235bb1f59e7267a102a74af58c04f59?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\n\t                \"caption\": \"migration\"\n\t            },\n\t            \"url\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/airforcetimes\\\/author\\\/migration\\\/\"\n\t        }\n\t    ]\n\t}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO Premium plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"F-16 pilot awarded Distinguished Flying Cross for bravery in Saudi Arabia deployment - Air Force TImes","description":"Capt. Nathanial \u201cIcarus\u201d Welch received the Distinguished Flying Cross with Valor for his actions during a 2025 Operation Rough Rider mission.","robots":{"index":"noindex","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"F-16 pilot awarded Distinguished Flying Cross for bravery in Saudi Arabia deployment","og_description":"Capt. Nathanial \u201cIcarus\u201d Welch received the Distinguished Flying Cross with Valor for his actions during a 2025 Operation Rough Rider mission.","og_url":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/airforcetimes\/news\/your-air-force\/2026\/07\/13\/f-16-pilot-awarded-distinguished-flying-cross-for-bravery-in-saudi-arabia-deployment\/","og_site_name":"Air Force TImes","article_published_time":"2026-07-13T15:53:13+00:00","article_modified_time":"2026-08-08T17:42:40+00:00","author":"Cristina Stassis","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Cristina Stassis","Est. reading time":"2 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/airforcetimes\/news\/your-air-force\/2026\/07\/13\/f-16-pilot-awarded-distinguished-flying-cross-for-bravery-in-saudi-arabia-deployment\/#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/airforcetimes\/news\/your-air-force\/2026\/07\/13\/f-16-pilot-awarded-distinguished-flying-cross-for-bravery-in-saudi-arabia-deployment\/"},"author":{"name":"migration","@id":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/airforcetimes\/#\/schema\/person\/cc76c831bb37a926738c8391fca7a3b1"},"headline":"F-16 pilot awarded Distinguished Flying Cross for bravery in Saudi Arabia deployment","datePublished":"2026-07-13T15:53:13+00:00","dateModified":"2026-08-08T17:42:40+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/airforcetimes\/news\/your-air-force\/2026\/07\/13\/f-16-pilot-awarded-distinguished-flying-cross-for-bravery-in-saudi-arabia-deployment\/"},"wordCount":414,"commentCount":0,"publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/airforcetimes\/#organization"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/airforcetimes\/news\/your-air-force\/2026\/07\/13\/f-16-pilot-awarded-distinguished-flying-cross-for-bravery-in-saudi-arabia-deployment\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/1000w_q95-26.webp_.jpg","articleSection":["Daily News Roundup","News","Newsletters","Your Air Force"],"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"CommentAction","name":"Comment","target":["https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/airforcetimes\/news\/your-air-force\/2026\/07\/13\/f-16-pilot-awarded-distinguished-flying-cross-for-bravery-in-saudi-arabia-deployment\/#respond"]}]},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/airforcetimes\/news\/your-air-force\/2026\/07\/13\/f-16-pilot-awarded-distinguished-flying-cross-for-bravery-in-saudi-arabia-deployment\/","url":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/airforcetimes\/news\/your-air-force\/2026\/07\/13\/f-16-pilot-awarded-distinguished-flying-cross-for-bravery-in-saudi-arabia-deployment\/","name":"F-16 pilot awarded Distinguished Flying Cross for bravery in Saudi Arabia deployment - Air Force TImes","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/airforcetimes\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/airforcetimes\/news\/your-air-force\/2026\/07\/13\/f-16-pilot-awarded-distinguished-flying-cross-for-bravery-in-saudi-arabia-deployment\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/airforcetimes\/news\/your-air-force\/2026\/07\/13\/f-16-pilot-awarded-distinguished-flying-cross-for-bravery-in-saudi-arabia-deployment\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/1000w_q95-26.webp_.jpg","datePublished":"2026-07-13T15:53:13+00:00","dateModified":"2026-08-08T17:42:40+00:00","description":"Capt. Nathanial \u201cIcarus\u201d Welch received the Distinguished Flying Cross with Valor for his actions during a 2025 Operation Rough Rider mission.","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/airforcetimes\/news\/your-air-force\/2026\/07\/13\/f-16-pilot-awarded-distinguished-flying-cross-for-bravery-in-saudi-arabia-deployment\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/airforcetimes\/news\/your-air-force\/2026\/07\/13\/f-16-pilot-awarded-distinguished-flying-cross-for-bravery-in-saudi-arabia-deployment\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/airforcetimes\/news\/your-air-force\/2026\/07\/13\/f-16-pilot-awarded-distinguished-flying-cross-for-bravery-in-saudi-arabia-deployment\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/1000w_q95-26.webp_.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/1000w_q95-26.webp_.jpg"},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/airforcetimes\/news\/your-air-force\/2026\/07\/13\/f-16-pilot-awarded-distinguished-flying-cross-for-bravery-in-saudi-arabia-deployment\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/airforcetimes\/","ad_zone":"home"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"News","item":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/airforcetimes\/news\/","ad_zone":"news"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"name":"Your Air Force","item":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/airforcetimes\/news\/your-air-force\/","ad_zone":"your-air-force"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":4,"name":"F-16 pilot awarded Distinguished Flying Cross for bravery in Saudi Arabia deployment"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/airforcetimes\/#website","url":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/airforcetimes\/","name":"Air Force TImes","description":"Independent News For Airmen | Air Force Times","publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/airforcetimes\/#organization"},"potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/airforcetimes\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/airforcetimes\/#organization","name":"Air Force TImes","url":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/airforcetimes\/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/airforcetimes\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/air-logo-white.png","contentUrl":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/air-logo-white.png","caption":"Air Force TImes"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/airforcetimes\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/"}},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/airforcetimes\/#\/schema\/person\/cc76c831bb37a926738c8391fca7a3b1","name":"migration","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/9e8d47be443ce94ce7fc357677b5f9c70235bb1f59e7267a102a74af58c04f59?s=96&d=mm&r=gcf4cb6ee0ec29e49e7a963234e4340ec","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/9e8d47be443ce94ce7fc357677b5f9c70235bb1f59e7267a102a74af58c04f59?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/9e8d47be443ce94ce7fc357677b5f9c70235bb1f59e7267a102a74af58c04f59?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"migration"},"url":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/airforcetimes\/author\/migration\/"}]}},"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"distributor_meta":false,"distributor_terms":false,"distributor_media":false,"distributor_original_site_name":"Air Force TImes","distributor_original_site_url":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/airforcetimes","push-errors":false,"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/1000w_q95-26.webp_.jpg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/airforcetimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/80482","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/airforcetimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/airforcetimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/airforcetimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/7"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/airforcetimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=80482"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/airforcetimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/80482\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":80490,"href":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/airforcetimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/80482\/revisions\/80490"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/airforcetimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=80482"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/airforcetimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=80482"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/airforcetimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=80482"},{"taxonomy":"author","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/airforcetimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/coauthors?post=80482"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}