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The Air
Force
has long
been
associated
with
bombing,
air
superiority,
lift,
and
search
and
rescue
missions.
In
recent
years,
the USAF
has
taken on
unconventional
missions
as well,
such as
training
explosive
ordnance
specialists,
assisting
convoys
on the
ground,
and
deploying
weapons
intelligence
teams.
Still,
thwarting
a
suicide
bomber
on the
ground
would
appear
to be an
unlikely
task for
an
airman.
But that
is
precisely
what Air
Force
Special
Agent
Gregory
Carmack
did last
year in
Kirkuk,
Iraq.
His
quick
thinking
during a
surprise
suicide
attack
protected
his
convoy
from
harm and
saved
dozens
of
lives.
Carmack's
heroism
earned
him the
Bronze
Star
with “V”
for
valor.
Carmack,
a
15-year
veteran
of the
Air
Force,
knew
well the
terrain
of Iraq
and the
Middle
East,
having
spent
six
tours in
the
area.
His
duties
during
this
tour in
Iraq
included
locating
high-value
targets,
performing
counterintelligence
missions,
and
assisting
ground
combat
operations.
On June
14,
2006,
Carmack's
three-vehicle
OSI
(Office
of
Special
Investigations)
convoy
moved to
capture
a
terrorist
in
Kirkuk.
The
convoy
met a
nine-truck
Army
detachment
to
discuss
operational
details.
At this
time,
Carmack
heard a
shot
ring out
and saw
a small
truck
ram
through
an Iraqi
police
checkpoint
and move
toward
the OSI
and Army
vehicles.
Having
broken
the
perimeter,
there
was
nothing
between
the
truck
and the
disembarked
team of
soldiers
and
special
agents.
Instinctively,
Carmack
recognized
the
imminent
threat
to the
convoy.
He began
firing
at the
truck.
The
other
convoy
members
took
cover –
only
Carmack
had a
clear
shot at
the
incoming
attacker.
Carmack
hit his
target:
The
mortally
wounded
driver
lost
control,
and he
hit an
unoccupied
Army
Humvee
without
detonating
the
explosive-laden
truck.
An
analysis
performed
after
the
planned
attack
found
two
130-millimeter
cannonshells
attached
to the
passenger
side of
the
vehicle
– more
than
enough
ordnance
to kill
or
injure
all the
servicemembers
present.
Thirty
six
seconds
elapsed
from the
time
Carmack
noticed
the
bomber
until
the
threat
was
neutralized.
Carmack
credits
his
training
for his
ability
to
spontaneously
react to
such
threats.
Of note,
Carmack
completed
the
mission
his OSI
convoy
originally
set out
to
accomplish:
Three
days
after
the
failed
attack,
Carmack
captured
the
high-value
target
near
Kirkuk.
Carmack
emphatically
supports
his
mission:
“I
believe
in what
we are
doing.
I've
been
there,
been on
the
ground
every
day for
six
months.
What we
do there
is
making a
difference.”
On
September
13,
2007,
Carmack
received
the
Bronze
Star
with
Valor.
He
currently
serves
at
Hickam
Air
Force
Base in
Hawaii. |
