AWARDED DFC: 1
CONFLICT/SPACE FLIGHT/EVENT:  -
MODEL:  C-130H

Citation:  1.) The President of the United States takes great pleasure in presenting the Distinguished Flying Cross to Captain Bill T. Tice, Jr., for extraordinary achievement while participating in aerial flight as Aircraft Commander of Glide 19 near Balad Air Base, Iraq, on 16 March 2005. On that date, Captain Tice departed the airfield in a C-130H with a crew of six and nineteen thousand pounds of critical war supplies on board. Approximately one minute after takeoff, the aircraft's missile warning system alerted the crew of a surface-to-air missile launch. The copilot visually acquired two separate missiles streaking toward the aircraft and informed the crew. Captain Tice immediately executed the proper defensive maneuver and directed the crew to manually dispense flares to backup up the automatic system. Once the copilot and rear scanner confirmed the missiles had passed under the aircraft, Captain Tice descended to a lower altitude to reduce the potential missile threat. The enemy, however, was determined to down Glide 19 and launched a third missile which was again detected by the aircraft's missile warning system and visually acquired by Captain Tice and the engineer. Remaining calm under this intense pressure, he once again flawlessly executed the defensive maneuver while the aircraft's flares dispensed, again diverting the missile from its lethal path. Sensing the enormous danged of this coordinated enemy attack, Captain Tice max performed the aircraft, descended to an even lower altitude and safely egressed the threat area. His superb airmanship and crew coordination skills throughout the engagement saved the lives of the crew, a thirty million dollar aircraft and guaranteed the delivery of critical supplies to Coalition Ground Forces. The professional competence, aerial skill, and devotion to duty displayed by Captain Tice reflect great credit upon himself and the United States Air Force.