Heroism earns Airman award Published Sept. 22, 2006 By Senior Airman John Gordinier 20th Fighter Wing Public Affairs SHAW AIR FORCE BASE, S.C. -- Marine Gen. Peter Pace presented the annual Keeper of the Flame Award to Tech. Sgt. Stephen Achey, 682nd Air Support Operations Squadron senior fighter duty technician, during a black-tie dinner Wednesday in Washington, D.C. The event is widely attended by a distinguished group of individuals, among whom are members of Congress, the military, the executive branch, diplomats, captains of industry and the press. The Keeper of the Flame Award was inaugurated in 1990 by the Center for Security Policy to bestow recognition on individuals who devote their careers to the propagation of democracy and respect for individual rights throughout the world. Past Keeper of the Flame Award recipients include: Gen. Pace, Secretary of Defense Donald H. Rumsfeld, former speaker of the house Newt Gingrich, former President Ronald Reagan, former Secretary of Defense Caspar Weinberger, Air Force Gen. Richard Myers, and Fortune 500's Malcolm "Steve" Forbes Jr. This year, the award recipients include the Hon. Duncan Hunter, Chairman of the House Armed Services Committee, and a member from each military service who were featured in the book, "Home of the Brave: honoring the unsung heroes in the war on terror," by Caspar Weinberger. The book contains 19 stories from the most highly decorated Airmen, Soldiers, Sailors and Marines in the military. Each story details a heroic event that took place during the war on terror in Afghanistan and Iraq. Sgt. Achey's heroic story from Afghanistan was the reason he was chosen as the Air Force's recipient of the Keeper of the Flame Award. "Forty-four personnel including myself left Bagram Air Base March 2, 2002, around 4 a.m. in two CH-47 Chinook (helicopters)," Sgt. Achey said. "We landed at the south end of Shahi Kot Valley, Afghanistan. Thirty to 40 seconds after the helos took off, we took fire from three directions. It was mortar -- rocket-propelled grenades -- and small arms fire. "I was getting fired at by (an enemy combatant) hiding behind a rock," he said. "I returned fire ... missed him and took cover while he returned fire. Then I got him. Unfortunately, his buddies saw me and mortar fire picked up." That's when he thought it was all over. "A mortar round hit close to my feet, which flipped me over," Sgt. Achey said. "I landed on my back. I sat there thinking 'I'm dead.' "I moved my feet and looked around to make sure I was all there," he said. "I was alright except for the ringing in my ears." Sgt. Achey found cover and called in for air support, but realized he didn't have a good global positioning system to give them the coordinates. The Army fire support officer informed Sgt. Achey of a GPS that was dropped down a hill, in range of the enemy. Sgt. Achey made the decision to retrieve it. "I asked for cover and started running," Sgt. Achey said. "While receiving enemy fire at the bottom of the hill, I grabbed the GPS and ran back. I turned the GPS on and gave air support the coordinates. Then the bombs started to drop." The enemy took shelter in a bunker, but Sgt. Achey called in the coordinates and an F-18 flew in and destroyed the bunker, which was filled with Taliban and Al Qaeda fighters. After a long day and 16 air strikes later, Sgt. Achey and the rest of his unit returned to Bagram Air Base. His heroic actions earned him the Silver Star. "Sgt. Achey is one of the most highly skilled joint terminal attack controllers I know," said Lt. Col. Brian Pierson, 682nd ASOS commander. "This award is a great honor that reflects on the courage, dedication and skill of not only Sgt. Achey, but every battlefield Airman who fought and who is still fighting in Afghanistan and Iraq." (Some information courtesy of the Center for Security Policy Web site at www.centerforsecuritypolicy.org)