Creech Airman receives recognition from Las Vegas community

  • Published
  • By Staff Sgt. Alice Moore
  • 432d Wing Public Affairs
An Airman assigned to the 432d Aircraft Maintenance Squadron here was recognized by the North Las Vegas Chamber of Commerce during a luncheon held in the Las Vegas area Sept. 25. 

Staff Sgt. William Brennan, weapons load crew member, was recognized by the city of North Las Vegas during its sixth annual Salute to Heroes event for rendering extraordinary service above and beyond the call of duty. 

According to Sergeant Brennan's nomination package, while deployed to Joint Base Balad, Iraq, Sept. 7, 2007, then Senior Airman Brennan, was inside an aircraft shelter and after hearing three loud pops, Airman Brennan and a co-worker observed three countermeasure flares ricocheting under a combat-loaded F-16 aircraft with 2,500 pounds of high explosives. Disregarding his own safety, Airman Brennan immediately evacuated personnel on the left side of the aircraft. Once all non-essential personnel were evacuated, they positioned a 150-pound fire extinguisher and began fire fighting procedures despite having no personal protective equipment. The burning flares were resting under the left wing or the aircraft with one directly below two 500-pound high explosive bombs. 

Airman Brennan immediately reacted to the situation by using a second fire extinguisher. Due to the flares and high temperature, the fire extinguishers weren't capable of extinguishing the flares. Instead, they used the pressure of the extinguisher to propel the burning flare from the aircraft. For the second flare, Airman Brennan and his co-worker used the same strategy. The strategy allowed Airman Brennan and his co-worker to push the second flare away from the aircraft as well as extinguish more flames beneath a 370-gallon fuel tank. The third and final flare ignited a wooden pallet five feet from an AIM-120 missile. The Airmen propelled the final flare away from the missile and aircraft. No personnel were injured and no equipment was damaged. Airman Brennan's actions saved the lives of 11 Airmen and a $30 million dollar aircraft. 

Sergeant Brennan said he attributes his actions that day to being trained properly. 

"It's all about the training. The training days we have do come in handy. You literally go in training mode and you revert back to everything you know. We train like we fight." 

Master Sgt. Mervin Bergeron, 432d Aircraft Maintenance Squadron weapons flight chief and Sergeant Brennan's supervisor, attended the recognition luncheon and said he was proud of Sergeant Brennan's accomplishments. 

"I thought the recognition was well deserved. I'm very proud of what he did. He didn't think twice and he did exactly what he was trained to do," said Sergeant Bergeron.
The North Las Vegas Chamber of Commerce Salute to Heroes recognizes first responders, military, and citizens from throughout the Las Vegas area who have gone above and beyond the call of duty, said Sharon Powers, President and CEO of the North Las Vegas Chamber of Commerce. 

"When we see something like this come through, where this man really did put his life on the line and helped diffuse a dangerous situation, the Salute to Heros gives us the chance of letting people know in the local community that there are good people out there who are doing positive things ," Ms. Powers said. 

Sergeant Bergeron also said the recognition event was a great way for the local community to also know about the contributions made by service members. 

"Today's event was a good way for the whole community to hear what he (Sergeant Brennan) did. I hope more service members will be able to be recognized like this in the future, Sergeant Bergeron said." 

Sergeant Brennan said he was honored to be recognized by the local community. 

"I appreciate my leadership putting me in for this recognition. It's a great honor and privilege, and I appreciate the community taking the time to recognize me. It's a good feeling to know we're not forgotten and what we do matters."