AWARDED DFC: 1
CONFLICT/SPACE FLIGHT/EVENT:  -
MODEL:  AC-10C

Citation:  1.) The President of the United States takes great pleasure in presenting the Distinguished Flying Cross to Captain Jeremiah W. Parvin for heroism while participating in aerial flight as the Pilot of an A-10C near Badghis Province, Afghanistan on 28 October 2008. On that date, while piloting an A-10C of the 75th Expeditionary Fighter Squadron, Captain Parvin was re-tasked to support a troops in contact 325 miles away from his current position. While approaching the area of operations and with the sun setting, Captain Parvin checked in with two separate formations of fighters already on station who stated there was an overrun Marine Special Operations Team involved in hand-to-hand combat and that low cloud layers prevented them from assisting. Realizing the team would perish if he did not assist them, Captain Parvin and his wingman developed a weather penetration plan based on the shape of the valley underneath them. Putting the safety of the team ahead of his own, he descended more than 6,000 feet below the minimum safe altitude, through multiple undercast layers in mountainous terrain, with no detailed maps, navigational aids, radar, or anything procedural to assist with terrain avoidance. Once underneath the weather and flying in a dangerously tight valley he fought through low illumination and smoke to identify friendly and enemy positions and, realizing the friendlies dire situation, turned on overt strobe lighting to divert enemy fire at him versus the friendlies. While receiving heavy surface-to-air fire with low weather forcing him to resort to low angle strafing runs reserved for day time use, his flight destroyed four machine gun nests along with multiple enemy positions closer than 40 meters from friendlies. With the main enemy positions destroyed, the team began an 800 meter retrograde where his flight provided covering fire six more times, at night, closer than 50 meters from friendly infantry on the run from a determined enemy chasing them. The outstanding heroism and selfless devotion to duty displayed by Captain Parvin reflect great credit upon himself and the United States Air Force.