2 Warbirds receive AF Combat Action Medal

  • Published
  • By Airman 1st Class Wesley Wright
  • Minot Air Force Base Public Affairs
MINOT AIR FORCE BASE, N.D. (ACCNS) --  Two Warbirds were awarded the Air Force Combat Action Medal here during ceremonies Nov. 13.

Lt. Col. Jimmy Sterling, 5th Medical Support Squadron commander, and Staff Sgt. Scott Lilley, 5th Security Forces Squadron, both received the award for their courageous efforts while deployed to Iraq.

The medals are new to the Air Force and recognize Air Force members who were engaged in air or ground combat "outside the wire" in a combat zone. It is also awarded to members who were under direct and hostile fire, or who personally engaged hostile forces with direct and lethal fire.

Sergeant Lilley was a turret gunner on a Humvee as part of a convoy traveling through downtown Baghdad, Iraq. His vehicle was the third in line in the convoy. The convoy proceeded down a route commonly known as "I.E.D. Alley," en-route to an Iraqi police station. Sergeant Lilley's team's plan was to secure the site and conduct training with local police to improve their tactics and ability to secure their own streets.

As the convoy approached an Iraqi checkpoint, an I.E.D. was detonated underneath the front-passenger side of Sergeant Lilley's vehicle.

"My first thought was, 'Oh great. What happened,'" he said.

The vehicle was disabled and came under small arms fire. Despite having two pieces of shrapnel enter his skull, he continued to man his weapon and return fire.

"I just stood up there on the gun, did what I had to do and kept everyone away from what was going on," Sergeant Lilley said. "I don't even remember firing the gun. They say I did, though."

The sergeant refused to leave his post and had to be pulled out of the turret by the squad medic due to severe bleeding from his head. Fellow security forces members evacuated him from the battlefield and he was flown to Balad Air Base, Iraq, where he underwent emergency surgery.

When he returned to the United States, Sergeant Lilley had little to no ability to speak or move. According to those around him, Sergeant Lilley showed the same courage he had displayed on the battlefield in the hospital. He amazed and scared the doctors by getting out of his bed and sitting in a chair, a feat they did not think him capable of accomplishing.

Sergeant Lilley has attacked his physical therapy and is now able to walk and talk. He faces a long road to complete recovery, but is determined to beat the odds and continue to amaze his doctors. He said he hopes to continue his Air Force career.

His parents expressed their gratitude for the care Sergeant Lilley received.

"We were really scared and concerned," said Jolene Lilley, Scott's mother. "But from the first phone call that we got until even now, we felt the arms of the military and the Air Force in particular, go around us. We were just encompassed. We didn't have to do a thing. The Air Force took care of everything."

In similar fashion to Sergeant Lilley, Colonel Sterling was also called upon to return fire at enemy combatants while traveling in a convoy.

As his convoy was approaching the town of Ash Shatra, Iraq, Colonel Sterling noticed the previously friendly Iraqi people who had been cheering them as they passed through small towns had abruptly stopped. Many were seen to quickly make calls on their cell phones. Moments later, the colonel observed a small explosion on the side of the road.

His convoy came under fire moments later as insurgents blocked the road.


"The first thing that went through my mind was, "I wish I had radio communication with my Airmen,'" he said. "And then I was looking for a weapon."

"Medics are in a bit of a different situation," the Colonel added. "We are allowed to be armed, but only to defend ourselves."

Colonel Sterling continued to return fire during near misses all around him and as a marine directly in front of him was hit with shrapnel. The firefight lasted approximately 20 minutes before the convoy was forced to retreat.

After reinforcements were called in, the convoy waited for dusk and again approached the town. This time, the enemy was positioned on both sides of the highway and again opened fire. Colonel Sterling and his team engaged the enemy yet again, this time led by two Cobra Gunship helicopters and six additional light armored vehicles. Using night vision and heavy fire power, the convoy suppressed the enemy, estimated in the hundreds, in minutes.

The team came under fire in six separate firefights over a period of 22 hours. After returning to his home station, Colonel Sterling was flown to Washington D.C. to present lessons learned to the Assistant Secretary of Defense, several Congressional Staffers, all four service's Surgeons General and members of their staffs.

"It's made a big difference in my life and I try to impart lessons learned to my Airmen at every chance I get," Colonel Sterling said. "The team I was with consisted of some of the dearest people to me. It's amazing how being in a bad situation can form a bond between you."

Both Colonel Sterling and Sergeant Lilley said they were honored and humbled at receiving the award.