Moody airmen receive Bronze Star
By Terry Richards, 10 July 2016

Col Kevin Walker pins a medal on SSgt Bradley Mock at Moody AFB. Photo by Terry Richards, The Valdosta Daily Times

 

MOODY AIR FORCE BASE — Two sergeants at Moody AFB were honored for valor Friday for their actions dealing with a suicide bomber in Afghanistan last year.

Master Sgt. Aaron Frederick and Staff Sgt. Bradley Mock, both with the 824th Base Defense Squadron, earned the Bronze Star with Valor, the Air Force Combat Action Medal and the Purple Heart at a ceremony at the base’s Hoffman Auditorium.

Their families and hundreds of Moody personnel watched as Col. Kevin Walker pinned the medals on the pair.

“We overuse certain words, and when you overuse these words, their meanings become degraded,” Walker said. “I’m going to use a word I don’t very often say ... the word ‘hero.’”

Frederick was a patrol leader near Bagram Airfield in Afghanistan on Dec. 21, according to the citation for his Bronze Star.

His patrol of 13 men was six kilometers away from the base when they were targeted by a Taliban suicide bomber on a motorcycle. The biker stopped only 15 feet away.

Frederick lunged toward the bomber just as he detonated explosives, killing six airmen and wounding five others, the citation said.

Despite receiving second-degree burns, Frederick took control of the scene, regrouping survivors and re-establishing security. He coordinated a landing zone for medical evacuation “despite excruciating pain,” and refused medical attention until he knew everyone else was accounted for, according to the citation.
 
Mock was a radiotelephone operator in the same patrol and was knocked out by the bomb’s blast, according to the citation for his Bronze Star. He regained consciousness after a few minutes and, despite facial lacerations and a concussion, re-established communications and summoned help while providing medical aid to injured teammates.

He also secured important equipment and intelligence, according to the citation.

After the presentation of the medals, the two men and their families greeted hundreds of people in a receiving line.

The Bronze Star is awarded for heroism or meritorious achievement in a combat zone. When awarded for valor, a “V” is added to the award.

The Air Force Combat Action Medal honors participation in air or ground combat. The wearer must have either been under fire while working in an unsecured area or defending a base while under fire.

The Purple Heart is given to servicemen who are wounded or killed in action. The medal can be traced back to an order of Gen. George Washington in 1782, when it was called the Badge of Military Merit.

Terry Richards is senior reporter at The Valdosta Daily Times.

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