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It was a daring, predawn rescue mission to save a kidnapped American being held hostage in West Africa, and then-Capt. Kyle Konkolics, who was piloting one of the CV-22s in the Oct. 31, 2020, extraction, said “things would just start going wrong, right from the start.”
Over the course of 11 hours, Konkolics and other airmen and Navy commandos in eight aircraft had their instruments stop working, battled weather and hypoxia, were required to refuel mid-flight multiple times, dodged obstacles and faced other challenges in order to pull off the most long-distance rescue in a single night in Department of Defense history.
Konkolics and four other airmen who were part of the mission received prestigious Air Force medals at Kirtland Air Force Base on Wednesday. The ceremony was held at the base in Albuquerque because the five airmen are currently working as instructors at the base’s 58th Special Operations Wing, which prepares airmen for special operations and combat search-and-rescue missions.
Konkolics, now a major, received the Distinguished Flying Cross. The other airmen who received awards are:
• Senior Master Sgt. Christopher Reedy received the Distinguished Flying Cross (First Oak Leaf Cluster).
• Tech. Sgt. Robert Duck received the Air Medal (Second Oak Leaf Cluster).
• Tech. Sgt. Thomas Morgan received the Air Medal (Second Oak Leaf Cluster).
• Staff Sgt. Christin Springs received the Air Medal (First Oak Leaf Cluster).
It was a fast-paced rescue effort that started to take shape not long after Philip Walton, an American citizen, was kidnapped from his home in Niger and held for ransom, according to previous reporting by The Associated Press and other news agencies. Walton was taken to neighboring Nigeria.
The citations for the airmen state the mission was completed just 48 hours after the military was notified of the situation, which gave the operators minimal time to plan for all contingencies.
One of the challenges, Konkolics said in an interview, was that CV-22s – tilt-rotar aircraft that are almost like a combination of a helicopter and plane – are not pressurized and the mission required them to fly at high altitude.
Duck’s citation credits him with recognizing signs of hypoxia and sharing his oxygen mask with the Navy commandos, whom The Associated Press identified as being members of SEAL Team 6.
Konkolics said the pilots kept their oxygen masks and the other operators in the CV-22s shared oxygen. At one point, his wingman’s displays stopped working and Konkolics led the aircraft to safety before rejoining the mission, which required an additional in-air refuel.
“He single-handedly led his disabled wingman to a remote operating base and developed a single-ship contingency plan to rejoin with the formation, ultimately ensuring the operation continued to meet critical timelines and minimum force requirements,” his citation states.
A spokesperson for the Air Force Special Operations Command said in an email that the mission was the longest time a CV-22 ever flew at high altitude.
“As a result of this mission, we better understand the factors that impact our operators on extremely long flights, like the one for this mission, and can adjust planning factors accordingly,” the spokesperson said.
Springs, who was flying in a MC-130J Loadmaster, is credited in her citation with battling communication problems and assisting in the refueling efforts.
Ultimately, Navy commandos parachuted to the ground and hiked 3 miles to where Walton was being held. The Navy team killed the half-dozen or so kidnappers, other than one who escaped. Walton and the team hiked to a landing zone and were whisked to safety, according to previous reporting by The New York Times. No U.S. military personnel were hurt.
“Finding your courage is probably the hardest part, and every airman on that flight had to find their courage,” Maj. Gen. Phillip Stewart, the commander of the 19th Air Force, said during the medal ceremony.
The medals were pinned on the airmen’s uniforms in front of their families and other military members.
Konkolics said it was fitting to have the ceremony at Kirtland. The 37-year-old, who is originally from New Jersey, said he’s trained and worked as an instructor at Kirtland off and on since he was 19 years old, and many of his old instructors attended the ceremony.
“It all kind of starts here, right? Like, this is where the training starts in order to fly these types of missions and to execute them,” he said. “They’re long days for these guys. They get beat up pretty good. Some guys fail out. Other guys pass. But, you know, there’s reasons for all that.”
