Now the weapons system officer is one of four airmen who will receive the 2010 Mackay Trophy from the National Aeronautic Association. The trophy is awarded for the “most meritorious flight of the year.”
Larkin from the 389th Fighter Squadron was a part of “Dude Flight,” a combat mission that killed more than 80 Taliban insurgents while saving about 30 coalition troops in April 2010.
After 600 missions, the Mackay Trophy is the first award Larkin, 31, has received.
“ ‘Dude Flight’ was actually the biggest mission I’ve ever done,” she said
The mission lasted about six hours. Ground forces were clearing out Bala Murghab, Afghanistan, of Taliban fighters, but they were ambushed once they reached the center of the town.
“They really needed something to save the day,” Larkin said. “They were in the very center and being ambushed from every direction.”
Larkin said the ground forces were able to take cover in a trench while Larkin and other pilots did several fly passes in an attempt to scare off the Taliban fighters and prompt a retreat. During this time, Larkin said she and the other pilots were in no direct danger.
“It’s not something we consider dangerous,” she said. “It was as dangerous to fly there as it was to fly in any training mission.”
When the Taliban forces wouldn’t back down, the pilots were directed to employ six Join Direct Attack Munitions.
“It’s a scary thing to release a bomb,” Larkin said. “There was a point when we thought we might injure some of the guys on the ground.”
Their last drop was the most dangerous.
“It was 45 seconds, but it felt like an eternity,” Larkin said.
Dropping bombs had never been ideal due to the terrain of the town and the cloudy weather. But in the end they were effective. Unable to recover from the attack, the surviving Taliban forces abandoned the town.
After the mission was over, Larkin and the rest of the “Dude Flight” pilots only wanted to know if the ground forces were all right and unharmed.
“We wanted to make sure they could keep doing the great job they’ve been doing,” she said.
Lt. Col. Donald D. Cornwell, Lt. Col. Dylan Wells and First Lt. Nicholas Tsougas are the three other pilots Larkin flew with, and they will also be awarded with the Mackay Trophy.
Larkin is a graduate of Carroll High School and Ohio State University with a degree in electrical engineering. She started training about a year after her graduation in 2003 and has been a weapons system officer ever since.
She said it was inspiring to live in an area where women weren’t discouraged from flying.
“I followed my dreams. No one ever told me I couldn’t.”
Contact this reporter at (937) 225-2295 or hbealer @DaytonDailyNews.com.
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