The President of the United States of America takes pleasure in presenting the Distinguished Flying Cross to Lieutenant Commander Mark Vislay, United States Coast Guard, for extraordinary achievement while participating in aerial flight as an aircraft commander aboard Coast Guard HH-60J helicopters from 29 August 2005 to 6 September 2005 during Hurricane KATRINA search and rescue operations. Demonstrating exceptional aeronautical skill, Lieutenant Commander Vislay flew in excess of 44 day and night hours. Commanding the second HH-60J on-scene, Lieutenant Commander Vislay surged through winds exceeding 50 knots, delivering Coast Guard and Federal Emergency Management Agency leaders to ground zero, ultimately providing a real-time assessment of the unfolding disaster which reached the highest levels of the federal government. Following this critical mission, Lieutenant Commander Vislay bravely flew to rooftop level, navigating through a network of utility wires and power lines while using night vision goggles to successfully rescue 15 survivors, all the while fighting 45 knot wind gusts. On the night of 31 August 2005, Lieutenant Commander Vislay undertook a second night mission. After skillfully avoiding four helicopters within a one square block area; he safely evacuated two critically ill patients from an unlit hospital pad. He then located a family frantically signaling from a home engulfed by the flood. While sustaining a motionless hover, Lieutenant Commander Vislay directed a litter hoist to rescue a comatose, handicapped survivor in the attic; the host involved threading the litter through a four foot jagged hole and any movement would have caused certain injury to the swimmer and survivor. On 1 September 2005, Lieutenant Commander Vislay displayed incredible physical endurance, saving 96 lives from a hotel roof, while operating his aircraft at its maximum performance capability. On 3 September 2005, he located a family of six trapped in their backyard. From 100 feet, he lowered the basket through an intricate web of wires hidden in the shadows of night, barely avoiding entanglement on each hoist. Lieutenant Commander Vislay’s actions, aeronautical skill, and valor were instrumental in the rescue of 167 storm victims. His courage, judgment and devotion to duty are most heartily commended and are in keeping with the highest traditions of the United States Coast Guard.