Captain Michael K. Connelly, United States Army, heroically distinguished himself by exceptionally valorous conduct in the face of the enemy of the United States as a UH-60 MEDEVAC Pilot and Team Leader, for C Company, 5th Battalion, 158th Aviation Regiment, Task Force Destiny, on 25 May 2010, in support of OPERATION ENDURING FREEDOM 10. CPT Connelly demonstrated exemplary heroism and courage in the line of fire in response to an Urgent MEDEVAC from Special Operations Task Force-81 where an American combat reconnaissance patrol was ambushed by over 50 enemy insurgents in the village of Mullah Wazir near Bala Morghab, Afghanistan. At 1021 hours, CPT Connelly was alerted that there were wounded Soldiers on the battlefield that were in critical condition. As the Site Team Leader, he directed his crews to their aircraft to begin running up as he gathered more detailed information on the situation. He learned that Soldiers were engaged deep within enemy territory, cut off from friendly lines and were out of water and desperately low on ammunition. He was also aware that they were completely surrounded and outnumbered by a highly determined and motivated group of Taliban insurgents that were laying down accurate suppressive fires on their position. Knowing that the ground unit was almost out of water and ammunition, CPT Connelly contacted the Pilot-in -Command (PC) of Black Magic 15 (BM 15) to ensure his aircrew was loading the combat resupply package that he coordinated for prior to mission execution. CPT Connelly ran to the aircraft, assumed his role as the co-pilot and notified both the PC of BM 15 and DUSTOFF 69 (DO 69) of the increasing enemy activity and that there were multiple known reinforced machine gun positions engaging Snake Eyes 1313 (SE13) from the south and the west. The intensity of the insurgent's fire prevented SE 13 from providing a detailed enemy situation report as they Jacked freedom of maneuver. This information did not deter CPT Connelly as he freely accepted the mission and ordered his crews to launch. Moments later, the crew of DO 69 and BM 15 were en route to evacuate one Afghanistan National Army Soldier and one US Operational Detachment Alpha (ODA) Soldier. While departing FOB Todd, the ODA JTAC (JAG 10) was calling in a GBU-31 20001b JDAM in danger close proximity to the compound that Snake Eyes 1313 (SE 13) was pinned down in. The situation on the ground was significantly deteriorating and DO 69 and BM 15 were racing to the engagement to divert the enemies focus and provide a standoff to SE 13. As they approached the LZ, CPT Connelly made contact with SE 13 and informed them that they were inbound to evacuate the wounded Soldiers. SE 13 notified him that they were currently being suppressed by enemy fire and would mark the LZ with green smoke. He instructed his crews to fly directly over the enemy line in hopes of drawing the enemy fire away from SE 13 and to reveal the insurgent fighting positions. CPT Connelly noticed that green smoke was on the LZ and directed his PC to land as close to the compound as possible. His PC quickly and skillfully landed their aircraft while under a barrage of enemy fire. As DO 69 touched down on the LZ, machine gun fire erupted along the right side of the aircraft, completely pinning down SE 13 within the compound located just 50m from their position with the wounded Soldiers. CPT Connelly instructed his crew to dismount their aircraft to assess the situation and provide aircraft security. CPT Connelly's position in the right pilot seat provided him with a clear view of the compound as enemy machine guns were laying down heavy and accurate fires on the LZ, successfully pinning SE 13 inside. One patient was able to make his way to the aircraft as enemy rounds impacted the ground all around the crew of DO 69. After getting one patient safely on board, CPT Connelly motioned to his flight medic to download the water as SE 13 informed him they were taking extremely heavy fire and were still unable to maneuver with the second litter patient. The DO 69 crew threw the desperately needed water resupply onto the LZ as CPT Connelly directed BM 15 to lay down overhead suppressive fires on the enemy in hopes of covering their movement. The intensity of the fire on the LZ was preventing the litter team from making it to DO 69; however, CPT Connelly remained focused on his mission, courageously refusing to leave the LZ until he had their wounded while relaying suspected enemy positions to BM 15. After three minutes of braving intense enemy fire on the LZ, all patients were finally on board DO 69. CPT Connelly notified BM 15 that they needed to land directly behind his aircraft to drop the combat resupply package as SE 13 was down to their last remaining rounds of ammunition and the enemy was already attempting to overrun their compound. As BM 15 began their approach, CPT Connelly instructed DO 69 to depart to the west to again draw the enemy's fire away from SE 13 and BM 15 as they were on the LZ conducting their combat resupply. When BM 15 completed their mission, they linked up with DO 69 and departed for the FOB Todd Forward Surgical Team. CPT Connelly and his team willingly flew into heavy fire risking their lives to evacuate wounded Soldiers and bring desperately needed supplies to units that were cut off from friendly lines. His courageous actions saved the lives of all Special Operations Forces pinned down on the compound and helped turn the tide of the battle. For his heroic actions on this date, CPT Michael Connelly was awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross.

Captain Michael K. Connelly, United States Army, distinguished himself by exceptionally valorous achievement to the United States as a UH-60 MEDEV AC Pilot and Team Leader for C Company, 5th Battalion, 158th Aviation Regiment, United States Forces-Afghanistan, on 8 March 2010, in support of OPERATION ENDURING FREEDOM l 0. CPT Connelly demonstrated exemplary heroism and courage in the line of fire on an Urgent MEDEVAC mission to a hot Landing Zone (LZ) to evacuate a Marine of the Special Operations Task Force-8 l with a gunshot wound to the head. At approximately 0650, CPT Connelly's crew, DUSTOFF 83 (DO 83), received the Urgent 9-Line request from Dagger 22, a dismounted ground force in a fire fight with 20-30 highly motivated enemy insurgents approximately 4 km north of Bala Morghab, Afghanistan. Within minutes, CPT Connelly had his aircraft and crew ready for launch. By 0705, DO 83 and chase aircraft Black Magic 20 (BM 20) still had not received approval to launch. Knowing just how desperate the situation on the ground was and the increasing likelihood that the critically injured Marine would not survive, CPT Connelly made the difficult decision to launch ahead of approval. Both crews departed FOB Todd traveling at 120 knots while maintaining flight below l 00 feet en route to the point of injury. Moments later, on short final to the hot LZ, CPT Connelly and his crew began drawing heavy small arms and machine gun fire from the insurgent forces. Even as they observed Rocket Propelled Grenades (RPG) impacting the ground just off the nose of the aircraft, CPT Connelly continued his approach. With Dagger 22 and chase aircraft BM 20 laying down suppressive fires, he skillfully maneuvered his aircraft safely to the ground. With his Crewchief and Flight Medic outside of the aircraft loading the patient, enemy fire intensified. A hail of machine gun fire and RPGs impacted the ground approximately 10-20 meters from the aircraft. CPT Connelly chose to remain on the LZ until the patient and his crews were safely onboard. Once the patient was secured, he departed for the Forward Surgical Team at FOB Todd once again drawing enemy fire away from the ground forces. With the enemy's focus on the departing aircraft, Dagger 22 gained freedom to maneuver and a tactical advantage over the determined enemy. DO 83 and BM 20 arrived safely back to FOB Todd minutes later safely delivering the critically wounded Marine to the ·FsT for lifesaving medical intervention. This mission was executed with less than 10 minutes of planning, unanned, to a hot LZ fraught with nun1erous hazards to aviation operations and under fire from a dangerous and determined enemy. CPT Connelly and his crew readily accepted risks beyond those asked of, or expected for other aviation assets in theater because of the criticality of the patient awaiting evacuation. Their quick action and disregard for their ov.n personal safety saved the life of a critically injured Marine while rallying the ground forces to defeat the enemy. CPT Connelly demonstrated extraordinary dedication and leadership as a UH-60 MED EV AC Pilot and Team Leader throughout a complex and dangerous mission. CPT Michael Connelly was awarded the Air Medal with V Device for his heroic performance on this mission.