During Exercise African Lion 2018, Sergeant Soldier's unmatched drive for perfection, outstanding leadership skills and consummate professionalism while assisting and advising allied forces resulted in effective joint operations. He single-handedly developed periods of instruction to cater to the Moroccans' level of understanding due to language barriers. Sergeant Soldier's foresight and planning resulted in classes for 7 JTACs on the CAS Execution Template, Fixed Wing CAS 9 line, Rotary Wing CAS 5 line and the practical application of these classes. During live fire exercises, Sergeant Soldier mentored the Moroccan JTACs with close air support of F/A-18s and Moroccan F-16s and F-5s. His patience, control and drive enabled the Moroccans to execute the CAS Execution Template in accordance with the JTAC MOA and subsequently gain confidence and trust in their own abilities to request and control close air support. This marked the first time in more than 45 years that live ordinance was dropped on Moroccan soil since the Military Coup of 1972. Sergeant Soldier's actions bring great credit upon himself, 1st Battalion, 1st Security Force Assistance Brigade and the United States Army.
Meritorious service while serving as JTAC, Camp Red Cloud AIN, South Korea from XXXXXXX to XXXXXXXXX. During this period, Sergeant Coates facilitated 48 close air support sorties and 13 live missions as part of the coalition effort to enforce persistent USFK air presence. He also provided essential theater wide communication capabilities for three joint peninsula wide exercises. Sergeant Coates also helped train 12 Special Warfare JTACs on CAS request tactics, techniques, and procedures which strengthened the Republic of Korea's deep strike capabilities. Finally, his keen attention to detail was showcased during a Korean VIP live bombing range exercise when he declared the immediate inadvertent presence of unauthorized personnel on the bombing range impact area. Sergeant Coates' quick response to notify the controlling JTAC directly prevented the death of more than 35 civilians. Sergeant Coates' distinguished accomplishments and loyal devotion to duty bring great credit upon himself, 607th Air Support Operations Group and the United States Army.
Staff Sergeant Hootie L. Blowfish distinguished himself by meritorious service while assigned to Detatchment 1, 4th Air Support Operation Squadron, 4th Air Support Operations Group, Baumholder Army Installation, Germany. During this period Staff Sergeant Blowfish conducted live Close Air Support training with eight aircraft neutralizing 20 targets and enhancing air-to-ground training for three coalition nations. Additionally, he personally trained two Soldiers on 20 training tasks, completing requirements for qualification in less than two weeks. Finally he was a key participant in the first ever Slovenian CAS Exercise where he expended over 1,500 pounds of live ordinance and shared techniques with six allied country JTACs. The distinctive accomplishments of Sergeant Blowfish reflect great credit upon himself and the United States Army.
