“During Gothic Serpent, Karl was awarded the Silver Star for his role in the mission,” one flight lead said. “The only thing he cared about was, ‘Well if I’m getting this, what are the rest of my guys receiving?’ He was always thinking about others. Even during our mission briefs, with every decision made, his first thought was how will this affect the guys on my crew?”

“I often talk about Karl, describing him as the hero who landed the Little Bird in the streets of Mogadishu to save the Ranger unit – the ultimate expression of courage in my book,” said Maj. Gen. (P) Kevin W. Mangum, former 160th SOAR commander and having just changed command as the Aviation Branch Commander. “And as the consummate and quiet professional, Karl successfully resisted telling his story to anybody who would ask, for over 20 years.

“For those reasons, I chose Karl to be the first regiment command chief warrant officer,” he added. “I’m proud to say that based off of Karl’s example, our combat Aviation brigades will see the position of command chief warrant officer added into their organizational structure starting next year.”