Drop zone dedicated to fallen pararescueman

  • Published
  • By Maj. Dani Johnson
  • 18th Wing Public Affairs
KADENA AIR BASE, Japan --  No one ever had a bad word to say about him. He always had a smile on his face no matter how bad the situation was. He will always be remembered by his unit and now by Kadena Air Base. An on-base parachute drop zone was dedicated to the fallen base pararescueman Jan. 26.

The drop zone on the flightline is now known as Ridout DZ in honor of Staff Sgt. Juan Ridout, a pararescueman with the 320th Special Tactics Squadron. He was killed in a helicopter crash with another squadron pararescueman Feb. 22, 2002, while on a mission in the Philippines supporting Operation Enduring Freedom.

"We were in the Philippines at an exercise laying the groundwork for SOAR [Special Operations Aviation Regiment] when our mission became real world and we started looking for terrorists as part of OEF," said Master Sgt. Ronald O'Steen, a 320th STS combat controller.

"We had information there were possible terrorists on one of the islands so we were inserting special operations forces [on the island] to find the bad guys," said Sergeant O'Steen. "I was already on the island when Juan and Bill [Master Sgt. Bill McDaniel] were heading out in two helicopters to join us."

The sergeant heard a SOAR helicopter went down and knew the situation wasn't good, but didn't realize at the time that both pararescuemen had been on the same aircraft.
"It was an overwhelming feeling," said Sergeant O'Steen.

The loss was devastating to the squadron.

"Juan was a phenomenal person, in 1998 he served in Kosovo and earned a medal by saving a downed pilot's life," said the longtime friend who had gone to numerous schools with Sergeant Ridout. "The pilot came to Juan's funeral. That is the effect he had on people.

"He would walk into the room and immediately be the center of attention without even trying," explained Sergeant O'Steen. "Not only was he a great PJ but he lived by our motto [so others may live] and always put himself in front to help."

Sergeant McDaniel's service was remembered in November 2004 when the base professional development center became the McDaniel Center for Professional Development. According to Sergeant O'Steen the unit felt that Sergeant Ridout needed to be recognized on Kadena to carry on the heritage and educate newcomers on those who gave their all.

"We have a wall in the squadron dedicated to both, but not something visible on the base to provide inspiration to Airmen," said the master sergeant. "We have a lot of Airmen in the squadron with Bronze and Silver Stars, but each one of them look up to Bill and Juan and use them as inspiration when times get tough. We wanted to pass that on to the base."

"Our mission and training is very risky, we put our lives on the line just to accomplish training," said Maj. Bryan Cannady, 320th STS director of operations. Major Cannady said dedicating a building or a drop zone is just one way for the Air Force to honor the memory of a fallen comrade.

When the six pararescuemen from the 320th STS and 31st Rescue Squadron landed on the DZ Jan. 26, a plaque was read to officially dedicate the area to someone they all consider a true hero - Staff Sgt. Juan Ridout.