An airman assigned to Malmstrom Air Force Base was awarded the Air Medal for heroism during a rescue operation in the Beartooth Mountains in August.

Maj. Collin Urbanowicz, an aeromedial physician assistant with the 341st Operational Medical Squadron, was presented with the award in a surprise ceremony on Thursday at Malmstrom Air Force Base. The Air Medal, generally awarded for singular acts of heroism during flight, often overseas, was presented to him for his role in an hours-long nighttime rescue mission on Aug. 25-26 where he put himself at risk to save a 75-year-old hiker who was stranded in the mountains.

According to the Air Force, the event was organized in secret by members of the 341st Medical Group and 40th Helicopter Squadron to surprise Urbanowicz, the first member of the 2

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