Minnesotan becomes first Air Guard nurse to receive national honor

The Distinguished Flying Cross Medal is the nation's highest award for aerial achievement.

January 6, 2023 4:18 PM

air force woman smiles in front of a plane — Captain Katie Lunning, 379th Expeditionary Aeromedical Evacuation Squadron critical care air transport team registered nurse stands in front of a C-17 Globemaster III on Oct. 13 at Al Udeid Air Base, Qatar. Lunning participated in one of the largest human airlifts in United States history by providing medical care to evacuees or service members while on board a C-17 Globemaster III.
U.S. Air Force photo by Senior Airman Kylie Barrow | 2021

The Distinguished Flying Cross Medal is the nation's highest award for aerial achievement. On Saturday, a Minnesota National Guard member will be the first Air Guard flight nurse to receive the honor.

In August 2021, Air Force Major Katie Lunning and her team administered care to 22 patients during a flight. They were critically injured at the Kabul airport by a suicide bomb blast.

She hadn't slept for 50 hours before the flight, but Lunning said her focus was on the injured.

"My team, we all have kids. So we all wanted to be back with our kids. And we talked about that is how all of these people have family too,” the Hastings native said. “And so we were going to do everything we could to make sure that they arrived as safely as possible to get back to their families."

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All the injured survived the eight-hour flight to Germany.

Lunning said she loves being a nurse and is grateful that her profession has been recognized with the award. She will be the first Air Guard flight nurse to receive the prestigious medal.

woman checking equipment — U.S. Air Force Capt. Katie Lunning, center, 379th Expeditionary Aeromedical Evacuation Squadron, critical care air transport team registered nurse, checks equipment on a C-17 Globemaster III in Kabul, Afghanistan, Aug. 20.
Courtesy of Maj. Katie Lunning | 2021

“I’m very proud that nursing had the opportunity to receive this award,” Lunning said. “The award is pretty rare, obviously, for a nurse to receive it, so [I’m] grateful that they thought about nursing and the impact that nursing can have.”

Minnesota National Guard officials said Lunning’s “professional competence and aerial skill” was vital to saving lives.

Lunning works as an Intensive Care Unit nurse manager in the Central Iowa VA.

Air Force Gen. Michael Loh, director of the Air National Guard, will travel to Minnesota to present the honor to Lunning. Also in attendance will be her husband Josh, their daughter Addie and her parents.

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