Christopher C. Barnett Silver Star citation

THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA

ESTABLISHED BY AN ACT OF CONGRESS 9 JULY 1918 (AMENDED BY ACT OF 25 JULY 1963) AND AWARDED BY THE
PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA

SILVER STAR MEDAL

PRESENTED TO
LIEUTENANT COLONEL CHRISTOPHER C. BARNETT
UNITED STATES AIR FORCE

The President of the United States of America, authorized by Act of Congress July 9, 1918 (amended by an act of July 25, 1963), takes pleasure in presenting the Silver Star to Lieutenant Colonel Christopher C. Barnett, United States Air Force, for gallantry in connection with military operations against an armed enemy of the United States as flight lead and mission commander, Shocker 35, 34th Weapons Squadron, 129th Expeditionary Rescue Squadron, near Kajaki, Afghanistan on 4 April 2009. On that date, Colonel Barnett led his HH-60G formation through firefights and a blinding sandstorm in near zero visibility executing a critical casualty evacuation when he received word of a Special Forces convoy under attack by a large enemy force. Colonel Barnett led his flight to the convoy location, where the arrival of the two heavily armed helicopters caused the enemy to instantly break contact and retreat. Despite extreme risk from surface to air fire, Colonel Barnett executed numerous show of force events to keep the enemy at bay. Alerted to a second team pinned down by heavy machine gun fire, under attack from three locations, and in danger of being overrun, he quickly moved to provide support. With fixed wing ordnance detonating on all sides and complete disregard for his own safety, he closed his aircraft to within 20 meters of the enemy, exposing themselves to harrowing fire to pinpoint the besieged team. Through a hail of intense enemy machine gun fire, Colonel Barnett expertly executed a fixed forward gunnery attack, knocking out enemy machine gun positions. He continued to direct the flight in a series of devastating attacks until the enemy positions were destroyed. Despite critically low fuel levels, he remained overhead the team securing the objective. Engaged by rocket propelled grenade fire, Colonel Barnett led the flight in a series of attacks, destroying another enemy position, causing the enemy to withdraw. Colonel Barnett’s heroic actions this day saved the lives of one Afghan National Army and 40 Special Forces soldiers. By his gallantry and devotion to duty, Colonel Barnett has reflected great credit upon himself and the United States Air Force.