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160th SOAR aviator receives Distinguished Service Cross.(UPDATE)

Special Warfare

| September 01, 2008 | COPYRIGHT 2008 John F. Kennedy Special Warfare Center and School. This material is published under license from the publisher through the Gale Group, Farmington Hills, Michigan.  All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Gale Group. (Hide copyright information)Copyright

During a ceremony on July 11 at Fort Campbell, Ky., Chief Warrant Officer 5 David F. Cooper, 160th Special Operations Aviation Regiment, became the first Night Stalker in the unit's history, and the only living aviator, to receive the Distinguished Service Cross in support of the war on terror.

"We stand here today in awe of Mr. Cooper," said Admiral Eric T. Olson, commander, U.S. Special Operations Command, who presented the medal. "His actions read like adventure fiction, but they are real. Others live because of his selfless courage."

Cooper led an AH-6 Little Bird flight on a mission against a foreign fighter facilitator in central Iraq on Nov. 27, 2006. While moving between waiting locations on this mission, his wingman was shot down by enemy fire. The helicopter-assault force immediately landed and, along with the special-operations ground forces on board, set up a small perimeter around the crashed aircraft. Although there were no serious injuries, the aircraft was not flyable.

After confirming that there was no immediate threat to the assault-force position, the two Black Hawk helicopters of the formation, carrying the pilots from the downed aircraft, returned to their base to get a downed-aircraft recovery team.

That left the force of about 20 special-operations forces at the crash site with one mission-capable AH-6 and two MH-6 helicopters. The crash site was flat desert ground, leaving the troops without cover while they defended the area.

About 40 minutes after the crash, enemy personnel suddenly appeared and began firing on their position. Cooper and his co-pilot were already starting up their engines to get an ...

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