European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - June 14, 2007, Darmstadt, Hesse                                June 2007 stars and stripes heroes Page 25 1 Felt and heard a Large explosion7 by Lisa Burgess stars and stripes her handle is killer but the distinguished flying Cross that air Force Kim Camp Bell was awarded involved the act of not on april an a10 Thunderbolt ii Pilot with the 75th fighter helped save name capt Kim Camp Bell unit 75th expeditionary fighter 332rd expeditionary operations 332rd air expeditionary Wing medal distinguished flying Cross earned april the lives of american troops who were pinned Down by Saddam Hus skins elite Republican guard on the Tigris near the North Baghdad Campbell also saved iraqi lives because she refused to ditch her aircraft Over the crowded capital and allowing the burning Jet to crash into a City of 11 Mil lion and Campbell saved taxpayers the Cost of replacing one warthog a multimillion Dollar twine Gine Jet aircraft specifically designed for close air one of the most inde Mand missions in Iraq and Afghanistan to this Early that Gray and Windy morning in Campbell and her flight squad Ron commander Rick were waiting their turn in the Cas the name air Force fighter pilots give for the circles they Fly while waiting to be called to perform Closeal support Campbell and Turner had flown their two ship formation to Baghdad from Al Jabr air base in stopping just Long enough on the Way for their warthogs to sip a Load of fuel from the refuel ing tankers playing the role of flying Gas she when the Call came Over the radio that troops at the Bridge needed Courtesy of Kim Campbell Kim Campbell was awarded the distinguished flying Cross for getting her a10 warthog Back to Kuwait on manual controls after it was shot up by iraqi forces during the initial push into Baghdad in As flight knifed the nose of his a10 downward and dived through the dense calling for Campbell a Captain at the time to the pair immediately spotted the fight ing at the they began to respond in a Square dance of taking turns letting Loose with the warthogs 30 my cannons and explosive when it was her turn to make her final Campbell dropped in from South to left hand pushing the throttle All the Way Forward to give the aircraft Maxi mum As she rolled in on her and adjusted her position using the Joystick in her right Campbells thumb slipped Over the Pickle Button at the top of the a split second before the warthog hit the target her thumb pushed the but and the rocket spat from the plane with a Bright Flash of with the throttle still full Campbell began to make her move up and away from the she was just beginning to move to her with the solid sensation of forces underneath her when i Felt and heard a Large explosion in the Back of the there was no doubt in my she i knew exactly what it i knew id been it was an antiaircraft and the Impact had sheared both Hydraulic lines to her our hydraulics Are really what allow our flight control system to function nor Campbell if the system is and other critical flight and Landing gear wont at this Point theres really one Campbell and that to switch to manual inversion the a10s backup system of Campbell also knew she had a second option eject and allow the plane to but there were civilians Down and there was no knowing who would be hit by the burning ejecting in itself Over Friendly territory is one ejecting Over enemy territory and going Down Over where we were just delivering ordnance on iraqi Republican is a totally different so that left the manual a technique that like most a10 had performed exactly during initial Pilot theres one sortie where youll Fly in manual inversion for very limited to understand that its just a Little bit More difficult to said who is now 31 and a10 division commander for the 53rd test and evaluation groups 422nd test and evaluation Squadron at Nellis air Force All of this flashed through Campbells she reached Over with her right hand and hit the switch to put the a10 into the Jet began to respond to her flight commands once and she began to up and away from Bagh it was a huge sense of Camp Bell that not a system you Check in the so you put 100 percent Trust in the maintenance Guys that it will and it it worked As the flight Home was i had plenty of Gas and the air plane was flying very so we decided to take it Back to Campbell but Campbell was angry that her air Craft had been shot and absolutely furious that they had been forced to leave the troops on the when its your own americans Are getting shot you want to do everything you can to help them at Al the a10 continued to re Spond through the entire Landing in id say probably one of the Best landings Ive Ever Campbell in just very impressed with the peo ple who had that the forethought to design such an amazing and also with our maintenance Campbell they dont realize All the time that what they do has a direct Impact in really Sav ing someones email Lisa Burgess at  if s a chess Back and Forth by Jeff Schogol stars and stripes he was Only a couple of feet from a Roadside Petty officer 2nd class Devon Bryan had arrived on the scene to take care of a Roadside bomb in Baghdad when a Soldier told him he had found what looked like another Bryan said he asked the Soldier to walk him Over to the second Ary but by the time the Soldier finally pointed it the two were right on top of your butt and you take off said of the bomb was eventually taken care and Bryan earned the Bronze Star with v device along with the rest of his Eod Mobile unit detachment for their work from january to july Eod is not a Job for people who have a name Petty officer 2nd class Devon Bryan unit Eod Mobile unit detachment 2 medal Bronze Star with earned Early in wire Back to he on the Way he and other troops got shot he once they got Back to insurgents started lobbing mortars at them right As he Bryan said he takes satisfaction in know ing that he is saving lives by taking Road Side bombs off the troops who have been to Iraq App re Bryan was ready to detonate the Une plod cite what Eod technicians although Courtesy of Devon Bryan Petty officer 2nd class Devon Bryan says that finding and dismantling As he does is not a Job for the problem handling stressful Bryan in one Bryan had to Han carry unexploded mortar shells about a Quarter mile from outside the de he before he could take another service member jumped into a nearby humvee and locked the leaving Bryan stuck he you have to have a sense of Calm to work with things that go Bryan when Hes work Bryan concentrates on other Peoples my personal safety is one of the last things i think he Bryan said he has been in the Eod Community for More than three years and he intends to he said he got into Eod because he liked the other sailors in the Community and he found the Job this is More of a direct Way of help ii my personal safety is one of the last things i think Foj Petty officer 2nd class Devon Bryan they have varying reactions when the Eod technicians show Bryan there pissed sometimes that it takes us a while to get he defeating Roadside bombs is a constant struggle to try to stay ahead of the its a chess Back and Bryan he said he returned to Iraq in March 2006 and was pretty amazed at How much Progress the bad Guys had made adapting to coalition procedures and finding new ways to deploy Roadside the Backan Forth Between the coalition and bomb makers shows no signs of Bryan its not going to end until we Emall Jeff Schogol at