[Congressional Record Volume 163, Number 188 (Thursday, November 16, 2017)]
[House]
[Pages H9379-H9380]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




       HONORING THE ACHIEVEMENT OF STAFF SERGEANT RICHARD HUNTER

  (Mr. JODY B. HICE of Georgia asked and was given permission to 
address the House for 1 minute and to revise and extend his remarks.)
  Mr. JODY B. HICE of Georgia. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to honor the 
bravery of one of my constituents and an American hero, Staff Sergeant 
Richard Hunter. Staff Sergeant Hunter was recently awarded the Air 
Force Cross in recognition of his outstanding courage in the line of 
duty.
  Staff Sergeant Hunter was deployed to Kunduz province, Afghanistan, 
as part of the U.S. Army Special Forces team. On November 2, 2016, his 
team found themselves under heavy machine-gun fire from insurgents. 
Despite the barrage of enemy fire, Hunter charged forward to shield the 
wounded and, ultimately, repelled the enemy's encroachment. He 
initiated the launch of the quick reaction force and casualty airlift 
for wounded members in his group.
  After discovering an injured fellow Special Force soldier, Hunter 
dragged him 30 meters to safety with one hand, while he directed radio 
airstrikes with his other. When they fell under fire once again, Hunter 
eliminated the threat, and helped load the wounded into a helicopter to 
be evacuated. In total, Staff Sergeant Hunter's actions that day 
eliminated 27 enemy forces and saved his team.
  For these measures of extraordinary bravery in the most dire of 
circumstances, Staff Sergeant Richard Hunter earned the Air Force Cross 
award. Without his help, many American servicemembers surely would have 
been lost that day.
  Mr. Speaker, I ask my colleagues to join me in honoring the heroic 
actions of Staff Sergeant Richard Hunter, a true American hero.

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