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 Cmdr. Ron Carlson, an S-3 Viking pilot with VS-32, was awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross on 25 June for extraordinary skill in landing his crippled aircraft during an Operation Enduring Freedom refueling mission on 9 January 2002. Assigned to the USS Theodore Roosevelt (CVN-71), he and his Naval Flight Officer, Lt. (j.g.) Tim Gantz, were only twenty minutes into their mission when an environmental system compartment fire led to the loss of the main hydraulic and flight-related electrical systems. Despite smoke and fumes, Carlson found the carrier and performed a no-flap landing with no radio communication. The S-3’s landing gear collapsed on impact and the aircraft skidded to rest on its side in flames. Carlson is the only Viking pilot ever to be awarded the DFC. |
