If You Can Read This... Thank Men Like Cmdr. Dillman

An EA-6B Prowler Naval Flight Officer was awarded the Air Medal with Combat Distinguishing Device, for heroic achievement in aerial flight. Cmdr. Paul S. Dillman earned the award in April while assigned to Carrier Group 5 on a flight mission in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom.

Recognized by Vice Adm. Timothy J. Keating, commander, U.S. 5th Fleet, Dillman was cited for skillfully navigating his aircraft to neutralize the missile threats, coordinating multiple high speed anti-radiation missile shots and jamming enemy air defenses, directly resulting in the successful destruction of all targets.

Dillman was presented with the Air Medal by Capt. Jose R. Corpus, chief of staff, Carrier Group 5, during a ceremony aboard the aircraft carrier.

When asked if he remembered what he was thinking about and if he did anything differently for that particular mission, Dillman replied, “I was thinking about the mission, about doing my job the way I’ve been trained to do it for the past 18 years. I didn’t do anything out of the ordinary, or prepare any differently than I always do when I go out to fly.”

Dillman is a 1979 graduate of Norwin High School and a 1983 graduate of Pennsylvania State University. He was commissioned through the aviation officers’ candidate program, later earning his designation as a naval flight officer.

Flying the EA-6B Prowler, Dillman has accumulated more than 3,300 flight hours and more than 670 arrested carrier landings. He was the commanding officer for the Electronic Attack Weapons School in Whidbey Island, Wash., from January 2002 to January of this year.

Dillman is currently serving as the air operations officer for Carrier Group 5, also known as the USS Kitty Hawk (CV 63) Strike Group. He reported to the staff and joined the crew aboard the ship in February while deployed to the Persian Gulf in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom.

Carrier Group 5 is embarked aboard Kitty Hawk and is currently under way in the western Pacific Ocean.

The Kitty Hawk Strike Group operates out of Yokosuka, Japan, and is the U.S. navy’s only permanently forward-deployed naval force. [ANN Thanks Cmdr. Michael Brown, Carrier Group 5 Public Affairs]

FMI: www.navy.mil