The Story:
Capt. Pipkin was deployed from October 2004 to October 2005 to help support missions in Iraq. In December 2004, Pipkin was serving as the gunner in an Apache helicopter when his aircraft was hit numerous times by armor piercing rounds fired by insurgents. His pilot was hit in the arm leading Pipkin to take over the controls and fly the helicopter back to the supporting hospital. After his pilot was admitted to the hospital, Pipkin called in coalition artillery on the machine gun nest, eliminating the position and the threat. During his deployment, Pipkin flew more than 600 hours providing air cover and serving as a quick reaction force to insurgent attacks.