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***image1***Capt. Jerry Ruiz had been in Baghdad for about two weeks, still learning his mission at the New Al Muthana Air Base, when he noticed a commotion near the officer quarters.
An Iraqi man kicked in a glass door, was screaming, flailing wildly and making threats against the Iraqi general, who was working nearby.
“I pulled out my weapon (an M-9) and loaded it,” Captain Ruiz said.
Pointing his gun and shouting orders at the Iraqi man, Captain Ruiz backed the man into a room, where the man continued to thrash and make threats against the Iraqi Air Force leadership.
“He was screaming that he was going to kill the general, the deputy commander and the chief of staff,” Captain Ruiz said.
Captain Ruiz, with the help of others, staved off the attack and helped detain the Iraqi national for two days. Iraqi Air Force officials learned the would-be attacker had falsified his records to join the Iraqi military. He was sent to Abu Ghraib prison in Iraq.
***image2***For his quick thinking and leadership effort during the incident, Captain Ruiz was awarded the Bronze Star Medal, given by the U.S. Army for distinguishing himself by heroic or meritorious achievement.
Gen. William Hobbins, U.S. Air Forces in Europe commander, will present the Bronze Star Medal to Captain Ruiz in a ceremony at Ramstein in May.
“You hear all the time that you are successful by the people who are around you,” Captain Ruiz said. “When I was there, we had a 12-man team, four of them got the Bronze Star and five got Joint Service Commendation Medals. That is evidence itself that I truly was surrounded by superstars.”
Captain Ruiz, 40, is a small-town guy from Hobbs, N.M. The son of an Army man, he grew up with manners and an appreciation for hardwork. He joined the Air Force 22 years ago, serving 15 years in the enlisted force and advancing to Master Sergeant. In 1999, he went to Officer Training School.
Earning the Bronze Star Medal for bravery means something to Captain Ruiz. But his work as a “loggie” – logistics readiness officer – is what he likes to talk about, his voice full of enthusiasm.
It was Captain Ruiz’ first time downrange and he went in thinking worst case scenario. He found a hardworking-team of coalition forces building an Iraqi Air Force Base from a bombed out set of buildings and aircraft hangars riddled with bullet holes. As the Forward Operation Officer, his mission was to get the New Al Muthana Air Base, near the Baghdad International Airport, operational. That meant bringing in everything from equipment to food for the troops.
His background is logistics – he’s trained to open, sustain and close military bases, and every bit of information he learned in the Advanced Logistics Readiness Officer Course was used in Baghdad, he said. He led civil engineering, communications, vehicle operation, supply and aerial port operations
When he arrived in Baghdad, there were 37 Iraqi personnel. When he left, there were more than 400. And by the end of 2006, the Iraqi Air Force will have a fleet of six C-130s and eight MI-17 helicopters.
“Transition is occurring, you see it everyday,” he said. “You actually do see the transition – things are being turned over.”
On March 7, the Iraqi air base was officially opened – the first Iraqi Air Force base since the end of Desert Storm, when more than 50 Iraqi Air Force bases were closed and equipment sold.
The work was not without danger. Coalition members worked long days and nights while rockets buzzed by, car bombs exploded at the base perimeters and Iraqi military officials were under constant threat. Still, Captain Ruiz, who said he bonded with his troops and called the experience great, plans to stay in the Air Force past the 30-year mark.
“The Bronze Star will be on my record and myself, and the guys around me, helped me earn that,” Captain Ruiz said. “I don’t think about the level of awards. I just go on to the next project and the next job.”
