Small Wars Journal

Dropping Sniper Nests in Four Story Buildings: A-10 Warthogs Earn Gallantry Award in Syria

Thu, 04/04/2019 - 8:14pm

Dropping Sniper Nests in Four Story Buildings: A-10 Warthogs Earn Gallantry Award in Syria by Kyle Rempfer - Air Force Times

The Air Force awarded the Gallant Unit Citation to the 74th Fighter Squadron out of Moody Air Force Base, Georgia, March 14 for its combined actions during close-air support missions against the Islamic State group in Syria.

 

The Gallant Unit Citation has only been awarded five times since it was created in 2001, according to a service news release. The 74th Expeditionary Fighter Squadron is also the first individual squadron to earn the award.

 

The citation said the pilots faced persistent surface-to-air threats and repeated intercepts by Russian aircraft while developing “new tactics to strike enemy fighters fortified in deep enemy terrain while protecting civilians and coalition forces.”

 

The A-10 Warthog pilots from the squadron were working over an urban battlefield to conduct close-air support for friendly troops that primarily consisted of U.S.-backed Syrian Democratic Forces.

 

The bombing in Raqqa, Syria, which the 74th Fighter Squadron took part in, has also been the subject of frustration from many human rights groups…

Read on.