Regaining consciousness and bleeding from multiple wounds after Taliban fighters in southern Afghanistan ambushed his unit in May 2007, Staff Sgt. Sean Harvell didn't let fear dictate his next move.

Harvell, an air combat controller with the 22nd Special Tactics Squadron at McChord Field, picked up his M-4 rifle, M-12 shotgun and some grenades and engaged the enemy while simultaneously directing air attacks over his radio.

"You learn how to control the fear, push through it, fall back on your training and do the job that needs to be done," said the 27-year-old airman from Long Beach, Calif.

"You have guys over there depending on close air support, and we use our teammates to get us out of close situations."

For multiple acts of valor on a six-month deployment, Harvell became the first air combat controller to receive two Silver Stars in a single ceremony, headlining the April 29 presentation at McChord Field as 10 other airmen also received medals for combat actions during deployments to Iraq and Afghanistan. The Silver Star is the nation's third-highest decoration for valor.

"It's quite an honor," Harvell said. "When we're over there fighting, you don't think about medals per se, but to come back and be honored with this and see my teammates honored for all the things they did, it's a huge honor."

Staff Sgt. Evan Jones, a 26-year-old airman from Colorado Springs, Colo., was also presented a Silver Star.

Combat controllers work shoulder-to-shoulder with Army, Navy and Marine Corps special operations forces conducting air traffic control and combat support.

Air Force Chief of Staff Gen. Norton Schwartz, who pinned medals on each airman, told the hangar packed with airmen, soldiers and family members how air combat controllers exemplify the Air Force's shifting culture.

"In what perhaps is the most dramatic shift, the culture of the Air Force no longer reflects the use of deploying to employ model," Schwartz said. "We are now a service that is focused on joint force objectives both at home and away."

While pilots garnered the majority of Silver Stars awarded to airmen in conflicts past, Schwartz said, "battlefield airmen like those being honored today exemplify the future of our service."

Jones, who did a short stint at Montana State University majoring in mechanical engineering before dropping out and enlisting in the Air Force, earned his Silver Star for gallantry during a six-month deployment to Afghanistan in September 2008.

Despite suffering immediate wounds to his shoulders and hands after anti-Afghanistan forces attacked his team, Jones orchestrated close air support to deter the enemy's advance and eliminate hostile fire directed at his teammates. His heroic actions saved the lives of 60 of his comrades, according to his award citation.

"I remember too much to explain in a short amount of time," Jones said. "It was a tough day. I was with a lot of other guys doing tough work ... everybody (was) covering each other."

The Air Force has awarded 29 Silver Stars for service in Afghanistan since September 11, 2001, Schwartz said.