Maj. John Caldwell, an F-16 pilot assigned to the 85th Test and Evaluation Squadron at Eglin AFB, Florida, was awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross in ceremonies on 25 June 2012 for his rapid response to an enemy attack on American and allied forces during a 2011 deployment to Nuristan Province, Afghanistan. Caldwell, then a captain, responded to an ambush 2 May 2011 on a Special Operations team taking casualties from enemy fire. This timely attack allowed the assault team to regroup. In the medal citation, the assault force commander was quoted as saying, “The presence of Caldwell and his immensely accurate awareness of the situation prevented a catastrophic loss of American lives and directly turned the tide of this engagement.”
