Navy Federal Credit Union

Awards Received

  • Distinguished Flying Cross

    Service:

    United States Air Force

    Rank:

    Lieutenant Colonel

    Action Date:

    March 26, 2003

    Citation Courtesy of the Distinguished Flying Cross Society – www.dfcsociety.org

    The President of the United States of America, authorized by Act of Congress, July 2, 1926, takes pleasure in presenting the Distinguished Flying Cross to Lieutenant Colonel Mark Shane Hershman, United States Air Force, for extraordinary achievement while participating in aerial flight as C-17A Globemaster III Aircraft Commander at Aviano Air Base, Italy in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom, the United States-led war to liberate Iraq, on 26 March 2003. On this date, the superior airmanship, professional skill, and courage exhibited by Colonel Hershman under extremely hazardous conditions culminated in the successful combat airdrop of heavy equipment from the 173d Airborne Brigade into an austere airfield in northern Iraq. As flight lead for the largest nighttime single-pass airdrop since D-Day, Colonel Hershman’s keen situational awareness and ability to overcome adversity proved critical in the overall success of the mission. A rigging problem discovered on a platform of Javelin missiles, the airborne brigade’s only heavy offensive armament, rendered the equipment unworthy to airdrop. Colonel Hershman had to weigh the decision to either fix the problem, risk a late-off which would result in missing the support package being sent to aid their passage through the hostile territory or to remove the platform and leave the paratroops inadequately armed once on the ground. With no time to waste, Colonel Hershman coordinated for the correct parachute to be delivered and rigged to the platform, keeping everything as planned and on schedule. En route, Colonel Hershman’s vast experience in formation airdrop flying and night vision device usage enabled him to safely and efficiently guide the entire package through instrument meteorological conditions, in mountainous terrain, for a tactical run-in to a covert drop zone. After acquiring the point of impact, Colonel Hershman realized that the drop zone markings were in a different location than briefed before the mission. To avoid dropping the equipment off the drop zone, Colonel Hershman took the aircraft out of auto-drop mode and set up for a manual-drop. Staggering the countdown to place the aircraft at the new computed air release point, he was able to manually initiate the drop sequence allowing the platforms to exit the aircraft and strike the drop zone on time and on target. The professional competence, aerial skill and devotion to duty displayed by Colonel Hershman reflect great credit upon himself and the United States Air Force.