Tech. Sgt Christopher Rector

Technical Sgt. Christopher Rector remembers accompanying his Air Force father to work when he was a boy.

“I always had this fascination with airplanes,” Rector recalled. “He worked on the flightline, so he would occasionally take me out with him. ... I would sit there and watch the airplanes take off.”

It was that love of flying that brought Rector into the Air Force.

Currently a special missions aviator with the 459^th Airlift Squadron, based out of Yokota, Japan, Rector serves as a flight engineer on UH-1N Huey helicopters.

While flying a helicopter in Afghanistan, en route to pick up a squad of commandos, they got a call that the squadron needed immediate evacuation.

They flew to the troops taking the shortest route, even though they knew insurgents were in the area.

“After about a minute of flying level, I started hearing that [sound] of a round hitting very close. Then I hear the metal start to crack as it’s hitting the aircraft,” Rector said.

Reaching the commandos’ position, it was up to Rector and the helicopter’s pilot to steer the craft while the troops got inside.

“We had to focus on keeping the aircraft straight and level while they worked,” Rector says of the aircrew in the rear end of the craft.

When one of the crewmembers was hit in the neck. Rector provided immediate life-saving first aid, then focused on getting the helo out of the combat zone.

“That was me having to put the absolute trust in my guys in the back of the aircraft that they were going to do what it took to ensure that we got him home,” Rector said. “That right there is the epitome of the brothership that you develop with crew. You trust your guys not only with your life but with each other’s lives.”

Rector’s commanding officers credit his quick-thinking, skill and leadership under fire for not only getting the helicopter, crew and passengers safely back to base, but also saving the life of the airman who was hit in the neck. Due to his actions that day, Rector was featured in the Air Forces Profiles in Courage in 2015, and was later invited by the White House and Congress to tell his story to 1,000 government leaders.

His cool leadership was again put to the test in 2015 when his helicopter experienced catastrophic engine problems over water. He guided the helo to a beach landing on a remote Japanese island. As the crew worked on the engine, he kept track of the incoming tide and developed contingency plans for takeoff. The engine problem was resolved just as the water was hitting the helo’s skids. He directed the careful takeoff, saving the lives of five crewmembers and a $10 million aircraft.

At Yokota, Rector has been key to developing closer bonds between U.S. and Japanese airmen, including setting up joint exercises for the helicopter crews. He’s done the same off-duty too, organizing events for troops from both nations to celebrate Japanese and American holidays. He also mentors Japanese and American school children on base, and spends hours each week after work helping kids learn how to read.