European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - June 14, 2007, Darmstadt, Hesse June 2007 stars and stripes heroes Page 29 we put hellfire into them7 name chief warrant officer 4 John Moseley unit 2nd 101st airborne division medal two air medals with earned March 2003 to january 2004 in Iraq by David Allen stars and stripes chief warrant officer 4 John Mose Ley says that what struck him most about his first tour in Iraq was the incongruity of the Battle Field Najaf was he said of the March Battle to take the City about 96 Miles South of he was the Leader of a team of two Apache Heli copters engaged in close combat at tacks on enemy positions identified by troops on the it was Daylight so when youre flying Over the youre a he we Only attacked what the ground Guys said to attack and what had positively been identified As the it was said there be a serious Battle going on Over one City Block and three or four blocks away wed see kids playing is now a maintenance test Pilot with the 1st 2nd aviation regiment at Camp South he is a recipient of six air medals two with v devices that he was Given for general combat action during his first tour in Iraq from March 2003 to january he received a seventh air medal for his second from january to december when he deployed to Kuwait in february we had no idea what to sex Moseley he most of our time leading up to the War was doing Brownout land Ings and the conditions were nothing like Back in the Southeast United the soil is Brown Tal cum when Ever you got close to the a huge Cloud of this stuff would engulf you and you it was like learning to Fly All Over when the War the apaches supported the 3rd infantry division on their sprint to they were the real heroes of the he they really knew what they were after they had left equip ment in Kuwait after desert storm and came Back every year practising to invade Moseley first taste of combat was attacking the crack Medina division of Iraq Republican guard at the Karbala a narrow strip of land Between the euphrates River and a it was the last Large obstacle on the 3rd ids Advance to we had to defeat the Medina division prior to getting the Bridges across the Moseley no one knew what to the Medina division was supposed to be the Best of the and Saddam Hussein was known to use Chemi Cal it was hot and cramped in the apace he with my flight suit and chem ical protective gear and my body Armor and my pistol in a shoulder my Copilot and i were like Robo cops in that Courtesy of John Moseley army chief warrant officer 4 John Moseley received a total of six air medals during his first tour in Iraq and one for his second tiny i Felt like the Michelin we attacked at night dropping Rock a propelled anti artillery rounds to make them keep their Heads it was like the fourth of the enemy fire was much lighter than he most of their tanks and trucks were parked along Highway 9 and we zoomed in As Low As possible about 35 feet off the ground and wiped them he using special heat detecting night i Sion the Rule was if it it Moseley we put hellfire into just that one night we killed the majority of the vehicles of the Medina Moseley unit was next sent to where they zeroed in on weapons caches and that where he got his Sec Ond air medal with a a 15year Veteran who now has More than flying hours under his said waiting for the invasion to begin was the toughest i was most frightened while waiting for the War to kick he we expected every scud missile to come Over us to have biological and some times we had to sleep in our protective trying to sleep in this Darth Vader mask that was pretty he we itched for the fighting to better to die in combat than dying like a cock Roach from nerve email David Allen at like an old world War ii video Courtesy of Robert Zackey ill air Force staff Robert l Zackery Iii was awarded his second Bronze Star with v for his actions directing airstrikes in Iraq from March 3 to May he earned his first Bronze Star with v in 2001 in Hes now a technical sergeant stationed at Osan air South by Franklin Fisher stars and stripes when the Nair Force staff Robert Zackery Iii and the rest of a special operations task Force neared one of Saddam Hussein iraqi antiaircraft guns filled the night sky with lethal streaks of like an old world War ii now 29 and a technical recalled of the 2003 raid on the tharthare Palace Complex Northwest of pitch dark would Light up every two seconds said Zack explosions both it was something out of a i never experienced anything like that within minutes it would be Zackery Job to Start directing airstrikes onto those antiaircraft Sites and other enemy including a unit of Saddam Republican guard about 40 special operations troops flew in aboard special Ops modified hh60 Black Hawk and mh47 Chinook Helicon supported by various combat aircraft including a10 As part of an air Force terminal attack control or Zackery Job was to go in with ground troops and relay to pilots the information they needed to attack ground Zackery was a Veteran of the 2001 invasion of Afghanistan and had been awarded the Bronze Star with v device for his actions but this was his first Mission in and it led in part to his second Bronze Star with name staff Robert l Zackery Iii unit 8th air support operations in support of special opera tons forces medal Bronze Star with first Oak Leaf Cluster for second Bronze Star with earned March 3may various locations in Iraq the raiding party touched Down around 3 some troops dashed toward several four Story Palace buildings and started Clearing them floor by while others concentrated on assaulting other parts of the As set himself up on the fourth Story of one of the guest towers for the duration of the As he looked out across a Road through night vision he spotted an iraqi pickup truck with armed men in the speeding toward the Palace he radioed two of the one swept to the the Pilot firing his 30 my galling Zackery saw Sparks Fly off the pavement around the but nothing and thought the Pilot had in the next the truck exploded in moments Zackery saw two More pickups heading in and again called them in to the both trucks were de by aircraft were drawing iraqi ground and Zack Ery pinpointed the gun positions for the the alos destroyed four about 45 minutes after they touched the raiding party re boarded helicopters and while at fort Zackery received his second Bronze among the actions specified in the accompanying citation was his role in the Palace his Calm professionalism under fire resulted in the destruction of enemy reinforcement vehicles approaching the Palace it and How did he come by that Calm professionalism under fire consider his response to what hed Tell others asking him for advice about combat service first of id Start with the the More you sweat in the less you bleed in he the More you know your the More you whatever you when you have that combat stress placed on youre not worried because you know youre email Franklin Fisher at
