Airman honored with Air Force Cross display
Staff Sgt. Robert Gutierrez looks at the display case containing his Air Force Cross citation and other memorabilia, which was dedicated to him at the Enlisted Professional Development Center Dec. 5 at Eglin Air Force Base, Fla. Gutierrez received the award “for extraordinary heroism against an armed enemy of the United States in Harat Province, Afghanistan” from President Barack Obama on Oct. 5, 2009. During a nighttime raid, Gutierrez, assigned as a special tactics combat controller to an Army Special Forces detachment, was shot in the chest. Though in intense pain, he engaged Taliban fighters with gunfire and directed two strafe runs, which decimated the enemy force and allowed his team to escape the kill zone. Gutierrez is a member of the Special Tactics Training Squadron at Hurlburt Field. (Courtesy photo)