EOD duo honored with second Bronze Star

Published Dec. 7, 2010
By Staff Sgt. Nestor Cruz
19th Airlift Wing Public Affairs

LITTLE ROCK AIR FORCE BASE, Ark. -- A pair of Airmen from the 19th Civil Engineer Squadron's Explosives Ordnance Disposal Flight each received their second Bronze Star medal in a ceremony here Dec. 2.

Tech. Sgts. Heath Mooney and Lawrence Lipinski, both 19th CES EOD technicians, earned their medals through meritorious service during deployments to Iraq and Afghanistan.

"[Receiving the bronze star] is a reflection of what our EOD guys are doing out there every day," said Sergeant Mooney. "But for every person who receives a Bronze Star, there's someone else lying out injured somewhere. It's a very humbling thing."

Working with the Army, Sergeant Mooney led his team on 59 missions during his deployment to Camp Taji, Iraq. His team destroyed 8,550 ordnance items, slowing the enemy's ability to make and place improvised explosive devices.

Sergeant Mooney credits the mission success to his Army colleagues.

"All four branches have an EOD [career field]," said Sergeant Mooney. "Working with the Army guys was really awesome because we built camaraderie with each other."

Sergeant Lipinski agreed, saying camaraderie shared with EOD members from other branches helped set his team up for success.

"Working with the Marines was great," said Sergeant Lipinski. "[Being an EOD member] is a way of life and takes a certain type of individual to do this every day."

Sergeant Lipinski led more than 66 missions during his deployment to Forward Operating Base Delaram, Afghanistan, supporting Marine combat operations. His team contributed to the destruction of more than 5,200 pounds of bulk explosives, greatly reducing the enemy's main explosive charges used for improvised explosive devices.

For Sergeant Lipinski, earning the Bronze Star doesn't set him apart from his peers.

"Two team members can be exposed to the same elements [in any situation]," Sergeant Lipinski said. One member may earn a medal for their actions while others don't, but they should," he added.

Sergeant Mooney believes earning the medal doesn't change the way he performs his job.

"We are asked to go out and deploy, and we do things most people don't contemplate about," said Sergeant Mooney. "It's an honor to receive the Bronze Star, but we do [this job] because we like it."