WASHINGTON — A pararescueman was awarded the Air Force Cross for his bravery in Afghanistan.

Secretary of the Air Force Deborah Lee James presented the medal Wednesday to Master Sgt. Ivan Ruiz during a ceremony at Hurlburt Field, Fla., the home of Air Force Special Operations Command.

Only five other servicemembers have received the Air Force Cross since 9/11. It ranks second to the Medal of Honor among awards for valor that airmen can earn.

A member of 56th Rescue Squadron at Royal Air Force, Lakenheath, England, Ruiz was deployed to Afghanistan last year as part of the 22nd Expeditionary Special Tactics Squadron.

On Dec. 10, 2013, he was working with U.S. Army Special Forces in Kandahar province when he and two battle buddies were cut off from their teammates while moving through enemy compounds.

After killing several insurgents at point-blank range, the three were pinned down in a courtyard by enemy gunfire and grenades. The two soldiers Ruiz was with were seriously wounded and left immobile and exposed. Ruiz sprinted through gunfire to engage the enemy and defend his teammates, according to an AFSOC description of the battle.

With grenades exploding 15 feet from him, he kept firing at multiple enemy positions to prevent insurgents from overrunning his wounded battle buddies. Ruiz fought off the Taliban until reinforcements arrived.

After receiving fire support, with bullets still flying around him, Ruiz dragged the wounded soldiers out of harm’s way and administered life-saving first aid.

“I just wanted to make sure my guys didn’t get hurt any more than they already were,” Ruiz said at Hurlburt, according to an AFSOC news release. “I just wanted to do my job.”

James praised Ruiz for his actions.

“We reserve the Air Force Cross for those special few who exhibit unequaled courage and bravery despite overwhelming odds, and that’s exactly what [Ruiz] did,” she said during the ceremony, according to the news release.

Ruiz credits his training for enabling him to respond.

“I didn’t really think, I reacted,” Ruiz said, according to the news release. “Anytime something bad happens in my career, I just fall back on my training. It prepares us for what we can encounter when we are doing our work.”

Also attending the ceremony were two Special Forces soldiers whom Ruiz saved in the courtyard.

“I have a great deal of respect for what [Ruiz] and guys like him bring to the fight,” said one soldier, who was not identified in the news release. “It’s always good to know you have guys like that out there with you.”

Ruiz received a Bronze Star with “V” device for his bravery during another battle in Afghanistan just three months before the fight that earned him the Air Force Cross. Over the course of a 13-hour engagement with insurgents in September 2013, Ruiz climbed a hillside and repeatedly exposed himself to hostile fire as he took on eight enemy fighting positions. He helped repel multiple attacks and contributed to more than 100 insurgent deaths, according to an Air Force description of the engagement.

harper.jon@stripes.com; Twitter: @JHarperStripes

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