The President of the United States of America, authorized by Act of Congress, July 2, 1926, takes pleasure in presenting the Distinguished Flying Cross with Combat “V” to Lieutenant Colonel Scott E. Manning, United States Air Force, for heroism while participating in aerial flight as an F-16CJ Pilot, 77th Expeditionary Fighter Squadron, 363d Expeditionary Operations Group, 363d Air Expeditionary Wing at Prince Sultan Air Base, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia on 7 April 2003. On that date, flying a time-sensitive target and lane suppression of enemy air defenses mission near Baghdad, Iraq, Colonel Manning exhibited outstanding airmanship and dedication to duty under extremely hazardous conditions. Flying as a Wingman, his flight received an airborne tasking to enter the heavily defended Iraqi integrated air defense missile zone to destroy enemy Hopolite helicopters suspected as Iraqi regime transport aircraft. He meticulously worked with critical ground parties to ensure no friendly forces were in the area. Colonel Manning expertly ingressed through severe weather to locate the helicopters in an area saturated with enemy anti-aircraft artillery and surface-to-air missiles. During the descent, enemy anti-aircraft artillery and surface-to-air missile guidance radars actively targeted his flight. Colonel Manning expertly employed on- and off-board countermeasures and directed his flight lead to conduct threat reactions to defeat the threats. Though under fire, Colonel Manning remained focused on the target area and executed a flawless attack using a precision cluster munition destroying one of the regime helicopters. Colonel Manning’s courage, aggressiveness and skillful tactical execution under extremely dangerous circumstances directly contributed to the success of coalition air and ground force objectives for Operation Iraqi Freedom. The outstanding heroism and selfless devotion to duty displayed by Col Manning reflect great credit upon himself and the United States Air Force.