JTAC awarded Bronze Star with Valor - Air Force News | News from Afghanistan & Iraq - Air Force Times

JTAC awarded Bronze Star with Valor

A joint terminal attack controller has been awarded the Bronze Star with Valor for his work in Afghanistan.

Tech. Sgt. Jose C. Valentin, currently deployed to Bagram Air Base with Combined Joint Special Operations Task Force-Afghanistan, received his medal Dec. 22.

The award, presented by Army Maj. Gen. John F. Mulholland, was for actions during an insurgent attack on Aug. 19, 2006.

Back then, he was on patrol in Yakhdan village in Oruzgan Province when his patrol made contact with enemy forces who greatly outnumbered the coalition unit. A rocket-propelled grenade burst over the patrol, wounding two and killing the patrol’s other JTAC, Senior Airman Adam P. Servais.

Valentin, who had volunteered for the mission as a driver, immediately ran through enemy fire to determine the enemy’s position. He directed airstrikes and artillery against the insurgents, silencing the foes long enough for a medevac crew to pick up the casualties. The enemies began firing on the helicopter as it attempted to lift off, so Valentin and the rest of the patrol provided covering fire.

With the medevac safely en route, Valentin’s team started to pull back to a nearby military outpost. As they passed through a valley on the way, the patrol was ambushed again, this time by insurgents firing from the high sides of the valley.

“We fought as we moved,” said Valentin, who recalled being in the back of a truck directing an A-10 aircraft and AH-64 helicopter to support his teammates under attack on the ground. The patrol was able to make it safely back to the outpost.

Valentin was awarded the Bronze Star with Valor for his decisive leadership during the attacks.

“I was no hero in that battle,” said Valentin, a Puerto Rico native. “I simply did my job under really bad circumstances.”