In the early morning hours of April 14, 2024, Technical Sergeant Christopher Cochran stared intently at his radar scope. He knew great trouble was brewing.
Cochran was the Radar Approach Control Operator at an overseas U.S. Command and Control Base that was well within range of hostile fire (the base will not be named for security reasons). It was Cochran’s responsibility to safely guide approaching aircraft into the base’s airspace and then handoff said aircraft to Air Traffic Control Tower.
Before coming on duty, Cochran had received a briefing, and word was there would be attacks involving Gaza and Iran. The only question was when.
There was palpable tension in the air.
“When I received my briefing,” Cochran said, “I noticed there were two to three times as many planes on my radar scope than you would normally see, but no civilian air traffic. That’s when I began to think something was going to happen on my shift.”
Cochran was entering the waning days of a six-month deployment at this base. Soon he would return to the 305th Air Mobility Wing at Joint Base McGuire-Dix-Lakehurst where he has been stationed since 2022.
Cochran worked the next couple of hours with the help of two junior airmen under his command and the technical sergeant who would be replacing him.
When a shrill, ear-splitting alarm pierced the night air, Cochran immediately recognized it as an “Alarm Red” a warning that an attack was imminent. The two junior airmen looked to Cochran for guidance.
“I told them they needed to go to the shelter,” Cochran said. “I told them to get their gear and run to the bunker. I opened the door and could see people running out, heading for shelter.”
The sergeant scheduled to replace Cochran came out of the adjacent break room.
“I told him you can stay, or you can go, but I am staying here,” Cochran remembered. “He stayed. I am glad he did because I could not keep up with all the text messages coming in.”
Cochran ignored the protocol of an Alarm Red which required personnel to immediately proceed to shelter. Instead, he returned to his radar scope and began providing the necessary direction each aircraft needed to safely approach the base.
The radar shack has no protection and no windows.
“At one point I went to the door and opened it. We could see enemy missiles flying overhead,” Cochran remembered, “and being picked off by our Patriot Missiles. You would see this bright while flash in the sky and then a trail toward the ground.”
Cochran returned to his radar scope and continued his work amidst the attack. As a result of his persistence and diligence, none of the aircraft for which he was responsible had to fly blindly through the dangerous skies, and all of the aircraft reached ground safely.
“I don’t know exactly how long it took,” he said, “maybe 30 to 60 minutes. We got all the planes safely in and then we headed to the bunker.”
On this night, Iran launched an estimated 200 ballistic and cruise missiles toward Israel as part of the ongoing conflict in the middle east. All but a few of the missiles were downed before they reached targets in Israel.
Cochran returned to the Joint Base a few days later. In July, a significant award followed him there.
Cochran was awarded the Air and Space Commendation Medal.
The Commendation Medal was authorized by the Secretary of the Air Force in 1980. It is awarded to Air Force personnel “for outstanding achievement or meritorious service rendered specifically on behalf of the Air Force.”
Cochran’s medal included a “C device” which distinguishes the achievement as having occurred in combat conditions.
Usually, the Commendation Medal is presented to personnel for a body of excellent work. Earning the award for a single achievement symbolizes that achievement was significant.
The commendation reported of Cochran that
in the face of an unprecedented Iranian air attack, he remained at his unhardened operations position providing vital radar information to coalition forces. Upon hearing the Alarm Red Condition, he selflessly directed the rest of his team to move to the closest bunker, leaving himself exposed to the significant risk of hundreds of incoming enemy one-way Unmanned Aircraft Systems and ballistic missiles.
Cochran, a Roanoke Virginia native, celebrated his return to New Jersey by marrying his girlfriend Rebekah during the last weekend in January. Rebekah currently teaches 5th and 6th grade math in Virginia and will be moving to New Jersey soon.
“The one thing I will never forget,” said Cochran, “is the sound of that alarm going off and then seeing the missiles in the sky. While I was making sure everybody was going to safety, I could see the missiles flying by and then seeing the bright white flash of them being taken down.”
