'Uncommon valor' awarded

A Cannon Air Force Base staff sergeant was honored in a socially distanced ceremony Thursday for his acts of bravery more than three years ago in Afghanistan.

Alaxey Germanovich, special tactics combat controller for the 26th Special Tactics Squadron, was awarded the Air Force Cross at Cannon. The award is the second-highest military award for valor in combat, behind the Medal of Honor.

The official ceremony took place in an aircraft hangar at Cannon, home of the 27th Special Operations Wing. Attendees were all positioned 6 feet apart. Capt. Cody Davis of the 26th Special Tactics Squadron and Col. Matt Allen, commander of the 24th Special Operations Wing, led the event.

Others attending the ceremony included members of Germanovich's squadron from that 2017 battle. His family, including his parents and three sisters, sat in the front row as Germanovich was on stage alongside Air Force Secretary Barbara Barrett.

"Today I am struck with Alaxey's story on the importance of choices that we make in our lives and the cascading consequences of those choices on ourselves and those around us." Allen said. "This battle (in 2017) is a case study in toughness and extraordinary competence, but it is also a case study on love. The type of love that demands teammates fight for one another and give everything they have for one another."

"You told me earlier, Alaxey, that you did what any of your teammates would have done if put in the same circumstance, but we don't know that. What we do know today is what you did. You join this group of warfighters whose common characteristic is uncommon valor."

Barrett gave a detailed account of Germanovich's actions:

"On April 1, 2017, then Sr. Airman Germanovich joined coalition commandos on a mission to clear an eastern Afghan valley of 450 ISIS fighters. The week-long operation morphed into 17 days of close combat of enemy engagement. We are here because of Sr. Airman Germanovich's actions on April 8.

"Mid-morning on April 8, with his coalition team, Sr. Airman Germanovich was patrolling through an enemy-held village when suddenly an intense, chaotic, firefight erupted. Under threat of being overrun by enemy forces Sr. Airman Germanovich exited his position of cover to mark the fortified fighting position of two suicide vested enemy. Moments later his efforts paid off when a friendly air fire missile neutralized those dangerous ISIS terrorists.

"Then 400 meters away, his team's command element was pinned down by a barrage of enemy heavy machine gun fire. Airman Germanovich directed bombing and striking runs to suppress that enemy fire but still the enemy persisted. So again, Sr. Airman Germanovich cast aside his personal survivor instincts. He and four Special Forces soldiers departed their protection and crawled across open terrain to the entrenched, fortified, enemy bunker. After successfully breaching the enemies' stronghold the team was immediately attacked from three sides.

"With 25 armed enemies moving in on their position Sr. Airman Germanovich employed suppressive fires while simultaneously calling in close air support from an AC-130 gunship. Now, 7 1/2 hours into this intense firefight, and running dangerously low on ammunition, Sr. Airman Germanovich expended some of his last rounds to neutralize a machine gunner and two other enemy fighters just 35 meters away.

"For now eight relentless hours Sr. Airman Germanovich directed dozens of aircraft overhead and called in danger-close air support to stifle the enemy. Out of ammunition and defending with pistols, friendly ordnance and enemy machine gun fire struck within 90 meters, then 65 meters, 35 meters, 20 meters of his position. In demonstrating the strongest bonds of military members that they can share, Sr. Airman Germanovich used his body to protect team members including one who was mortally wounded."

Germanovich's actions are attributed to protecting 150 friendly forces in the valley on that day.

Barrett presented the medal, as Germanovich's father came on stage for the pinning.

The livestream of the event had been viewed over 45,000 times on the Air Force Special Tactics Facebook page through Friday.