On Wednesday, Ruiz was awarded the Air Force Cross for his heroism in that battle in Dec. 10, 2013. The medal, second only to the Medal of Honor in recognizing valor in combat by airmen, was awarded by Air Force Secretary Deborah James.

“We reserve the Air Force Cross for those special few who exhibit unequaled courage and bravery despite overwhelming odds, and that’s exactly what (Ruiz) did,” James said, according to an Air Force news release. “Today we are adding his name to an extremely small list of five additional airmen, since Sept. 11, 2001, who demonstrated this highest caliber of service and excellence.”

AD

AD

Ruiz was with the 22nd Expeditionary Special Tactics Squadron and attached to a team of Army Special Forces and Afghan commandos carrying out a raid in Kandahar province. According to his award citation, obtained by Checkpoint, he and two other U.S. soldiers killed the four insurgents they encountered at point-blank range, and then faced gunfire that swept across the courtyard of a compound and grenades thrown at them from barricaded positions.

“Sergeant Ruiz eliminated one enemy fighter with well-aimed carbine fire, while enemy fire wounded his two comrades, rendering them immobile and exposed to enemy fire,” the award citation says. “Alone in the courtyard, Sergeant Ruiz completely disregarded his personal safety and refused to withdraw to cover. Single-handedly suppressing enemy fire until reinforcements arrived, Sergeant Ruiz pressed ahead under intense enemy fire to reach his wounded comrades.”

Ruiz was eventually driven to his belly by the sheer volume of fire he faced. But he refused to leave the courtyard, fearing that it would allow the insurgents to open fire again on the wounded U.S. soldiers. Enemy hand grenades blew up within five meters of him, Air Force officials say.

AD

AD

As reinforcements from the rest of their unit reached them, Ruiz then advanced through a hail of enemy machine-gun fire and grenades to drag a wounded American to a position with more cover, and then provided medical treatment to his wounded teammates.

“Through his extraordinary heroism, superb marksmanship and aggressiveness in the face of the enemy, Sergeant Ruiz reflected the highest credit upon himself and the United States Air Force,” his citation concludes.