Reserve EOD Airman shows leadership, courage under fire

by Senior Airman Bobby Pilch
315th Airlift Wing

4/19/2013 - JOINT BASE CHARLESTON, S.C. -- Bullets rained down on a joint group of U.S. Air Force Airmen and British Army forces fighting for their lives in an intense firefight along the bank of the Helmand River in southwestern Afghanistan, Sept. 21, 2012.

Tech Sgt. Jarrod V. Mills, of the 315th Airlift Wing's Civil Engineering Flight at Charleston, S.C., and members of the Paladin counterinsurgency task force working with a British Reconnaissance Force, were clearing a known insurgent stronghold where explosives were produced in the Upper Gereshk Valley. A location the team was quite familiar with.

"We had been in this area a month prior," said Mills. "We were pretty prepared that something could happen and knew they were making homemade explosives."

This deployment was one of several Mills had volunteered for. He said he is most comfortable in a deployed environment--A stark contrast from his full-time civilian job as an AT&T facility technician.

"I am happiest when I am deployed," said Mills, the non-commission officer in charge of the 315th AW's Intelligence and Explosive Ordinance Disposal training. "You know what your job is going to be each day. The missions may change somewhat, but overall you know what you have to do."

As the late morning sun lingered in the sky and the cloak of darkness no longer available for protection, Mills and the entire team were now exposed to peering eyes. They attempted to cross the river to a pre-secured, temporary check point. The all too familiar "clack, clack" of 7.62mm automatic assault rifles broke the eerie silence. The enemy began to fire on them from across the river bank.

Bullets ripped through the air and tap danced around their position as if playing a game of connect the dots, each one sounding too close for comfort. But Mills and his comrades were trained to handle this kind of stress and still get the job done.

During the heat of the tense engagement, a grenade thrown by the enemy injured two British soldiers. Without hesitation, Mills quickly organized his EOD team to provide protective cover from the insurgents so the injured could be treated and airlifted to safety via helicopter.

Leadership is something that comes naturally to Mills according to his supervisors at Joint Base Charleston. They trade accolades back and forth about someone they consider a fine specimen of an Airman and someone who never quits.

"I have to confess," said Master Sgt. Mark P. Johnson, 315th EOD program manager, "He's one less stripe than me and I often look to him. He is so universally admired and respected. He sets a standard and expects things out of people. Nobody works harder. He's tough to a point of insanity, unflappable under stress."

"When you go to work you know that person has your life and your back," said Master Sgt. Carl Makins, Jr., 315th EOD superintendent, describing the small two or three-man teams EOD members typically consist of in the field. "Jay is of that same mentality, he will not quit - period. You never worry about him quitting. That's not even in your mind when you go out to do something. If you get hurt, and you go down and wake up in a hospital...you know Jay pulled me out, because he was the only one there."

Because of Mills' actions and the actions of his team, the two BRFs were evacuated safely; the enemy defeated and no further ally casualties resulted. Some people may say that Mills could be labeled a hero. However, he does not view himself in this light. People like him rarely do.

"I acknowledge that what happened was an extreme circumstance," said Mills. "But it was a team effort."