Exhibit tells story of warrior Airmen

  • Published
  • By Amy Rollins
  • Skywrighter Staff
WRIGHT-PATTERSON AIR FORCE BASE, Ohio. --  The sacrifices and bravery of battlefield Airmen are being showcased at an exhibit dedicated during a ceremony Jan. 23 at the National Museum of the U.S. Air Force.

The front-line jobs of Tactical Air Control Party (TACP) personnel is the focus of the "Duty First, Always Ready" exhibit in the Battlefield Airmen area of the Cold War Gallery. TACP personnel accompany forward military units on the battlefield and arrange air strikes against enemy targets on the ground.

The exhibit features the story of TACP Senior Airmen Bradley Smith and Michael Malarsie and displays their combat shirts and hard-earned TACP berets; a radio and infrared pointer used by TACPs to communicate with aircrews and to provide nighttime visual cueing of targets; and Smith's compass, whistle, signal mirror and notebook.

Smith and Malarsie trained and deployed together to Afghanistan in December 2009 as a two-man TACP team from the Air Force 10th Air Support Operations Squadron embedded with an Army infantry company. Smith, who also had about two years of additional forward air control and ground operations training, served as the joint terminal attack controller, directing close air support strikes with assistance from Malarsie.

On Jan. 3, 2010, Smith and Malarsie were on foot patrol near the village of Badvan when an improvised explosive device (IED) detonated, killing two soldiers and wounding Malarsie in the face and neck, leaving him incapacitated in a nearby creek. Still, he fought on by handing out his ammunition to those who could return fire. Facing heavy small arms fire and mortar attack, Smith ran to rescue and render aid to his wingman and recover one of the mortally wounded soldiers. After he and the platoon medic stabilized his fellow Airman, Smith continued to defend the position. In retrieving another soldier's body, he and the medic were killed by a IED.

Later, Smith was posthumously awarded the Silver Star medal, a copy of which is displayed in the exhibit case.

Malarsie received the Bronze Star with Valor for his heroism on the battlefield. He continues to serve his country and community with the help of his guide dog Xx-on, a German shepherd. Although blind, Malarsie remained on active duty and was promoted to staff sergeant. He organized and designed the Air Force Recovering Airman Mentorship Program to help support wounded warriors and their families.

He retired from the Air Force in 2013 and now lives in Salt Lake City with his wife, Jesse, and three children. His work includes serving as a motivational speaker around the country, and he said he plans to go back to college soon.

Malarsie, now 27, and Smith's parents, Gary and Paula Smith of Troy, Illinois, attended the dedication ceremony that also drew personnel from 12 different military bases and people from 15 states.

Paula Smith said she and her husband "were very much honored and thrilled" when they saw the exhibit.

"I am just amazed at what the Air Force and people have done here to help us celebrate Brad's service and his life," Gary Smith said. "We miss Brad, but this is how Brad was -- he was outgoing, he was caring, he was considerate, he was thoughtful. He was a great Airman. He put other people first."

Gary Smith called to attention the soldiers who lost their lives the same day, from the Army 1st Battalion, 12th Infantry Regiment, 4th Brigade Combat Team, 4th Infantry Division, Fort Carson, Colorado: Sgt. Joshua Lengstorf, SPC Brian Bowman and PFC John Dion. He and his wife have gotten to know Malarsie, whom they called "a wonderful young man."

"It's a huge honor to have my stuff sitting next to Brad's, who is my hero," Malarsie said. "What he did that day changed my life. For me to come   pay and to honor the career field as a whole, it's hard to put into words."

With four sisters, Malarsie said he looked up to Bradley Smith as a brother and recalls the life lessons he imparted during the month they worked together.

"I knew that I had to live my life in a way that would make Brad, Josh, John and Brian proud. ... The time I spent down range taught me the things that matter in life. Their memory gives me the motivation to keep going.

"This display case is a way for that feeling to reach everybody that didn't know Brad," Malarsie said.

He and his wife look forward to bringing their children to the museum to see the exhibit, he said. 

Praising a hard-learned a skill

Norton Schwartz, retired general who served as the 19th chief of staff of the Air Force from 2008 until his retirement in 2012, spoke during the dedication, having become acquainted with Malarsie when he was recovering from his injuries at Walter Reed National Military Medical Center.

Schwartz discussed the importance of the air/ ground interface TACP personnel provide, calling it an important, hard-learned skill deserving of recognition.  

"so important realize who it is in our Air Force that earns the respect of our teammates in the other services," he said. "I would submit, it is TACPs and their counterpart battlefield Airmen, first and foremost, that earn the respect and yes, the appreciation of our teammates, in the joint community first. That is what battlefield Airmen do for our Air Force."

Schwartz said Malarsie has profoundly affected himself and his wife, Suzie, calling him "a person of such depth of character that I wish I was half the man he is."

Schwartz praised Smith for his ultimate sacrifice and contribution to the TACP career field.  

"We're really about this exhibit," said Museum Director Jack Hudson. "It's a story we haven't told right before. This takes care of that, so the 1.2 million folks who come here every year can now come see this exhibit. All the folks will be able to see it online," too.
For more information, visit nationalmuseum.af.mil.