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Recognizing extraordinary heroism shown in combat, Secretary of the Air Force Deborah Lee James presented the Air Force Cross to an Air Commando during a ceremony at Hurlburt Field, Dec. 17.
Master Sgt. Ivan Ruiz, a pararescueman deployed with the 22nd Expeditionary Special Tactics Squadron, was awarded the U.S. military’s second highest decoration for an airman. He earned the medal for protecting and saving the lives of two wounded teammates while under heavy enemy fire at close range during combat operations in Kandahar Province, Afghanistan, Dec. 10, 2013.
Secretary of the Air Force Deborah Lee James congratulates Master Sgt. Ivan Ruiz, a pararescueman from the 56th Rescue Squadron, Royal Air Force Lakenheath, England, on receiving the Air Force Cross at the Freedom Hangar on Hurlburt Field, Fla., Dec. 17, 2014. Ruiz is the sixth U.S. military member to receive the nation’s second highest military decoration since 9/11. (U.S. Air Force photo/Senior Airman Christopher Callaway)
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