Reservist awarded Bronze Star

  • Published
  • By Staff Sgt. Stephen Razo
  • 944th Fighter Wing Public Affairs
LUKE AIR FORCE BASE, Ariz. --  You are on deployment to Iraq and on a mission that has your unit surrounding an area where a dangerous insurgent is hiding. The explosive ordnance disposal team is on standby ready to neutralize any improvised explosive devices that might compromise the extraction of that "bad guy." 

Suddenly, gunfire crackles through the air. The sound of live rounds whizzing around you forces you to quickly direct the establishment of a defensive circle. The thunderous roar of idling vehicle engines makes it too difficult to pinpoint the source of the gunfire. 

The insurgent is captured, and despite the danger, the team collects critical physical and forensic evidence that ties the detainee to numerous vehicle bomb attacks in the area. 

As a result of your action, there is an immediate decline in vehicle bombings in that part of Kirkuk Regional Air Base, Iraq. 

Makes a good story, but that scenario actually took place. 

"I knew exactly what I was getting into," said Tech. Sgt. Stephen Hunter, 944th Civil Engineer Squadron EOD technician, who was deployed to Kirkuk from May to November 2008. "This career field is a challenge, but very rewarding." 

During that mission, Sergeant Hunter led an EOD team that secured the route to the location of the suspected insurgent which enabled his capture and reduced vehicle bombings in that area of Kirkuk by 25 percent. 

Sergeant Hunter's dedication to duty throughout his recent deployment to Iraq earned him the Bronze Star Medal for meritorious service - service that, as an EOD team leader, provided day-to-day base support, route clearance and quick response to IED incidents. 

Sergeant Hunter was presented the Bronze Star during the 944th Fighter Wing commander's call Saturday. 

"This deployment provided my first-ever encounter with an IED, in fact 29 of them," Sergeant Hunter said. 

As a former Army infantryman trained to bring deadly power to the battlefield, he finds it ironic that he now puts his life in danger to remove danger from the battlefield. 

"Neutralizing those 29 IEDs made me feel that I was contributing to the war effort at the highest level of my career field," he said. 

A career field, according to Sergeant Hunter, that depends on close camaraderie along with a consistent training program to get the job done. During a deployment, EOD teams are quick to share information, they train together and they constantly test each other to make sure that nothing out on the battlefield is a surprise to them. 

Consequently, Sergeant Hunter does find it difficult to solely accept a prestigious individual award like the Bronze Star. 

"Any success that I have is a direct result of the strong relationship between the 56th CES EOD Flight and the 944th EOD. Our relationship is critical, solid and they take care of us," Sergeant Hunter said. 

So if the road to success in the EOD world depends on teamwork, consider that during his recent deployment Sergeant Hunter participated in nine joint Army/Air Force munitions cache missions that recovered 4,568 pounds of hazardous munitions. He also embedded with Army combat engineers and was directly responsible for the disposal of 14 IEDs during 39 joint route clearance missions covering an unprecedented 3,427 kilometers of roadway. 

Certainly a road not traveled by many, but thanks to Sergeant Hunter, a road made more passable for future EOD team leaders. And he has a Bronze Star to prove it.