Pilot awarded medal in Libyan rescue

  • Published
  • By Lois Walsh
  • Team Eglin Public Affairs
EGLIN AIR FORCE BASE, Fla. --  Flying a daring rescue mission in the night skies over Libya earned Capt. John Easton a Distinguished Flying Cross.

Easton was a pilot attached to the 48th Fighter Wing, Royal Air Force Lakenheath, England. On March 21, 2011, he was one of two pilots in an F-15E formation whose mission was to destroy the enemy's strategic surface-to-air missile site. While on the attack run, the second F-15 pilot and weapons systems officer experienced an aircraft malfunction, forcing them to eject. The mission quickly turned to search and rescue with the goal of recovering the two men who were behind enemy lines.

"It was terrifying when we realized what was happening," said Easton, who is currently assigned to the 86th Fighter Weapons Squadron. "It was the most intense night of my life."

Easton said he could breathe easier when he found out both men were alive; he heard the pilot on his survival radio and later, through command and control, learned the weapons systems officer was with friendly Libyan rebels. The mission then became intense with coordination of Allied assets to meet the challenge of recovering the pilot, while simultaneously coordinating air refueling and command elements over the downed crew. The joint effort between other Air Force aircraft and Marine harriers in the Mediterranean completed the mission in a little more than three hours. After coordinating the other formations, Easton provided rescue escort to two Marine CV-22s during their return of the pilot to Lakenheath.

"(Rescue) is something briefed all the time, but not something we expected," Easton said.  "When we finally got back to base, it was an absolute relief to take that deep breath."

Col. Alexus G. Grynkewich, the 53rd Wing commander, presented the DFC in a ceremony attended by family, friends and fellow Airmen. The colonel said Easton was humbled by his award, an emotion that is "fairly common when people do "extraordinary things under extraordinary circumstances."

He said the mission was dangerous as Easton flew in lethal range of the surface-to-air missiles. Failure to successfully coordinate the rescue mission had the potential to be a disaster if the downed men were not rescued.

"Captain Easton will tell you he was just doing his job, that's the American hero's way; anyone would have done the same thing in those circumstances," Grynkewich said. "It's in those circumstances you really find out what folks are made of and really find out who can stand up to that stress and get the job done."

The DFC is awarded to any officer or enlisted man of the Armed Forces of the United States who distinguishes himself in actual combat in support of operations by heroism or extraordinary achievement while participating in an aerial flight. It falls behind just three other medals given for valor: the Medal of Honor, the Air Force Cross and the Silver Star.