News Releases
News from Lane Community College
For release October 14, 2010
LCC flight grad earns Distinguished Flying Cross
EUGENE—Lane Community College aviation graduate Ryan DeChent of Veneta, has been awarded the Army’s Distinguished Flying Cross for heroism while serving as a pilot-in-command and air mission commander for Task Force Eagle Lift during its 2009 deployment to Afghanistan.
In an awards ceremony on Sept. 10 at Fort Campbell, Kentucky, DeChent was commended for bringing 21 service members to safety after the CH-47F Chinook helicopter he was piloting was struck and damaged by a rocket-propelled grenade. The Fort Campbell Courier said DeChent served a 12-month tour in Afghanistan including numerous combat missions to resupply soldiers on the ground. The full story is online at: http://www.fortcampbellcourier.com/news/article_077eceb4-c1d6-11df-9431-001cc4c03286.html
Ryan earned an associate of applied science in flight technology at Lane in 2000. He also earned a private pilot fixed-wing license and private pilot helicopter license at Lane. He now serves in the US Army as a Chief Warrant Officer 3 assigned to Company B, 7th Battalion, 101st Regiment, 159th Combat Aviation Brigade, 101st Airborne Division.
Lane is an equal opportunity/affirmative action institution.
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Media contact: Joan Aschim, PIO, (541) 463-5591, aschimj@lanecc.edu
