Flight Pundit

The Marines are making news all over the place today.

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United States Marine Corps Capt. Michael Trapp, who has roots in Bradenton, received the Distinguished Flying Cross with a Flying V on July 13 for his heroic actions in Afghanistan.

Michael Trapp is the son of Bradenton accountant Gary Trapp, who said he couldn’t be prouder of his son. The elder Trapp said that when his son joined the Marines, he thought it was a good move for a young man without direction.

“Mike started out as an enlisted Marine and worked his way up to qualify for officer candidate school,” Gary Trapp said. “He eventually became a pilot.” The proud father said his son was a hard worker and deserved the Distinguished Flying Cross medal.

According to the citation summary, Capt. Trapp flew an emergency mission on Aug. 25, 2003, that saved the lives of coalition forces pinned down by an enemy ambush.

“We were given an emergency alert to scramble to help about 200 miles away,” said Trapp, who pilots an AVAB Harrier jet. The 35-year-old pilot said that at first the alert was fairly routine; he had flown more than 100 missions while in Afghanistan. He said he and the other pilot in his section, Lt. Col. Mike Franzak, flew to where the enemy forces were firing from higher positions on the coalition forces below.

Trapp said he realized it was more than a routine flight when he heard gunshots over the radio. “That’s when the adrenaline starting coming in,” he said. The adrenaline really helps you focus on what’s important.” Because the terrain was mountainous and unfamiliar to the pilots, there was some difficulty in pin-pointing where the coalition forces were located.

According to the citation summary, Trapp “dove for the deck and performed several low-altitude, high-speed passes in an effort to quell the enemy’s assault. “The sight and sound of the Harriers flying down the valley, expending self-protection flares at low altitude, appeared to halt the enemy’s assault” for enough time for the coalition troops to withdraw. As the ground troops were repositioning themselves, they traveled into a deep gorge, where the enemy again ambushed them with rocket-propelled grenades and fire from small arms and automatic weapons.

That was when the squadron attacked the enemy positions with their 25-mm cannons.

The citation summary read like an action-packed novel in describing Trapp’s next move.

“After watching the lead’s gun impacts, Capt. Trapp quickly rolled in and adjusted his aim point according to the (ground troops’) commands, scoring a direct hit on the intended target with almost 100 25-mm semi-armor piercing high explosive tracer rounds.” In between all this action and running low on fuel, the Harrier squad took turns and performed mid-air refueling maneuvers four times during the mission. After four hours of “punishing” al-Qaida and Taliban enemy fighters the Marine jet squad was out of ammunition and turned the mission over to Danish Air Force jets.

Trapp and his squadron spent six hours in the air before returning to base.

That was when he learned the coalition forces received only minor wounds.

Trapp said it was about 24 hours later when some of men from the ground forces came over to his camp to thank Franzak and him personally. “They invited us over to their camp for dinner,” he said.

Because the enemy had more men, there could have been more coalition deaths if the Harriers had not helped out when they did.

“Due to the heroic and professional actions of Capt. Trapp, certain tragedy was avoided and coalition lives were saved,” according to the summary. “By his superb airsmanship, inspiring courage and loyal devotion to duty in the face of hazardous flying conditions, Capt. Trapp reflected great credit upon himself and upheld the highest traditions of the United States Naval Service.”

Trapp flew his medal-winning mission in the 11th month of his one-year tour in Afghanistan.

“The mission worked out real well for us,” he said.

Trapp is stationed at the Marine Corps Air Station in Yuma, Ariz., with his wife, Darleen, and three children, Audria, 17; Kyle, 12; and Adam, 1.

He has been in the Marines for 17 years and said it’s “the greatest job in the world”.

“Especially flying jets.”

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Another hero.

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