• Original Board (April 2022) - Procedural Failures

This Decorations Board reviewed the package in just nine days—far below the standard 4–6 months required for thorough adjudication. Critical procedural steps were ignored. This rushed and incomplete process invalidates the Board’s conclusions: six decorations denied, two downgraded and one deferred.

• Reconsideration Board (October 2024) - Facts Ignored

Contrary to the Board’s assertion that the actions of the Stinger 41 aircrew members “did not meet the criteria” for valor awards, expert analysis confirms otherwise including: Mission Risk, Voluntary Gallantry, Heroic Sacrifice and Survival Under Fire. Lt Gen (Ret) Waskow was on scene, observed the shoot down and participated in the search and rescue and stated this was one of the largest search and rescue missions of the war and attests to the crew’s heroic actions.

• Unambiguous Endorsement

Recognition of the aircrew member’s heroic actions is endorsed and supported by: U.S. Senator Mark Kelly, Former Secretary of the Air Force F. Whitten Peters, 24 General Officers—including four former Air Force Chiefs of Staff, Former Air Force Special Operations Command Commander and his Decorations Officer, Wing and Squadron Commanders with combat oversight in real time. Their message is unified and clear: The Stinger 41 crew met and exceeded the threshold for valor and gallantry.

• Precedent Violations

• Manta 75 (1972): Two weeks before the Stinger 41 mission a C-130, call sign Manta 75, was shot down in the same area. All of the crew survived—and all received the Silver Star (orders available). This directly contradicts the denial of Stinger 41’s awards and sets a precedent that the current Board failed to acknowledge or properly weigh, despite its documentation in both the 2022 and 2023 submissions.

• Spare 617 (1972): The Board confused this with another aircraft, failing to recognize that two of Spare 617’s crew received the Air Force Cross. This factual inaccuracy further undermines the Board’s credibility.

• Unequal Valor Recognition

• Both pilot and copilot were willing to sacrifice their lives for the crew. Thirty seconds before impact, the pilot of Stinger 41 ordered his copilot to bailout at 300 feet. The copilot obeyed, parachuted into dense, enemy controlled jungle, and survived with serious injuries. The pilot, left alone, could no longer control the aircraft and the aircraft crashed as witnessed by two forward air controllers (one of which was Lt Gen (Ret) Waskow).

• The pilot was nominated for the Medal of Honor and received the Air Force Cross. o The copilot, who performed identical duties and his actions helped save seven lives, received no recognition. o In contrast, Manta 75’s copilot received the Silver Star. This inconsistency in recognition is unacceptable.