F-16 Pilot Awarded Silver Star for Dodging Surface-to-Air Missiles over Yemen

An F-16 pilot was awarded a Silver Star Medal for a harrowing mission in which he dodged multiple surface-to-air missiles during the opening weeks of the operation against the Houthi rebels in Yemen earlier this year. 

Lt. Col. William “Skate” Parks, the former commander of the 480th Expeditionary Fighter Squadron, was awarded the Silver Star, the nation’s third-highest award for valor, for his actions during a mission on March 27. Parks was decorated with the Silver Star and a Bronze Star Medal by Air Force Chief of Staff Gen. Kenneth S. Wisbach in a ceremony at the Pentagon on Nov. 26.

An Air Force news release and Parks’ award citation refer to the mission as taking place in the U.S. Central Command area of responsibility, which encompasses the Middle East. U.S. officials familiar with the matter told Air & Space Forces Magazine that the episode took place over Yemen. 

The Air Force’s timeline and description of events match details of the U.S. campaign against the Houthis. The Trump administration stepped up its air campaign against the group on March 15 with the launch of Operation Rough Rider before agreeing to a ceasefire with the group in early May.

The mission on March 27 was to destroy ballistic missile production facilities, consisting of a strike package of 21 aircraft. Parks, acting as the mission commander, led four F-16s on a Suppression of Enemy Air Defense mission. The 480th Fighter Squadron, based at Spangdahlem Air Base, Germany, specializes in SEAD missions.

According to the award citation, which the service provided to Air & Space Forces Magazine, Parks “intentionally placed himself in threat range of a complex air defense zone protecting the enemy’s capital,” an apparent reference to the Yemeni capital of Sanaa, which is held by the Houthis. “However, the consequence of his deliberate actions was a barrage of precisely targeted enemy air defense missiles and anti-aircraft artillery aimed towards his F-16 flight.”

Parks and his wingmen narrowly fought off the barrage. For the next 15 minutes, Parks and his F-16 flight fought off enemy missiles with high-G maneuvers and by deploying anti-missile countermeasures, with “enemy missiles detonating mere feet from his aircraft,” the award citation states. 

By this point, however, Parks was “below minimum fuel and still within enemy territory,” and Parks coordinated for an “emergency rendezvous” with two tankers, “preventing the probable loss of two aircraft due to fuel starvation,” according to the award citation.

“His courageous and steadfast actions directly contributed to the survival of his wingman and himself,” the award citation adds.

Parks, who is currently assigned to Air Force Vice Chief of Staff’s office at the Pentagon, recalled the mission during the ceremony, in an account provided by the Air Force.

“That loneliness settles in, even though it seems like it’s all happening fast, you just feel that moment where ‘I’m feeling very alone out here tonight,” Parks said. “And then that transitioned very quickly to elation. As I got a little bit closer, the [command and control] agencies and the Air Force team started picking me up and my requests of ‘Hey, I need help! We’re out of gas. I need tankers moved.’”

Twelve F-16s from Spangdahlem were deployed to the Middle East for eight months, from October 2024 to July 2025, and had an important role in Operation Prosperity Guardian, the Biden administration’s campaign against the Houthis, and Operation Rough Rider, among other missions, according to people familiar with the deployment and an Air Force account of the operations the squadron participated in. The Air Force said in a release that Parks defended against five surface-to-air missile engagements, though it did not specify when each attack occurred, and did not say precisely how many missiles were fired at his flight of F-16s during the March 27 mission.

During their deployment, the 480th Expeditionary Fighter Squadron recorded 108 air-to-air victories against drones and land-attack cruise missiles. That included using AWKPS II AGR-20 FALCO laser-guided rockets to shoot down drones and older AIM-9M air-to-air missiles, employing them in combat for the first time in 30 years, according to the Air Force.

Air & Space Forces Magazine has previously reported on the novel effort to use laser-guided rockets to down Houthi drones, and they are now a preferred method for Air Force aircraft in the Middle East to take down drone salvos more cheaply while having more munitions at hand.

In previous drone barrages, most notably a large-scale drone salvo launched by Iran at Israel in April 2024, F-15E Strike Eagles and F-16s depleted their stocks of pricey AIM-9X and AIM-120 AMRAAM missiles.

During the deployment, Parks had six air-to-air kills, which the Air Force said were scored protecting the roughly 5,000 sailors aboard the aircraft carrier USS Harry S. Truman. The Truman’s deployment roughly overlapped with that of the 480th Expeditionary Fighter Squadron, and the carrier provided the primary strike aircraft for attacks against the Houthis while it operated off the coast of Yemen. The ship was often a target of Houthi drone attacks.

“It’s a rare day when someone earns a Silver Star, with less than 100 being earned during the Air Force era,” Wilsbach said during the ceremony. “After hearing Skate’s story, his leadership, decisive action, and skill in the face of danger, I absolutely believe he deserves this honor. Recognizing valor in combat matters, and it is a privilege to serve alongside warfighters like him.”

Parks comes from a family of Airmen. His father was an Air Force test pilot, and his uncle was an F-111 weapons system officer, while his cousin is a KC-135 Stratotanker and C-17 Globemaster III pilot, and his brother flies the C-146 Wolfhound.

“It is incredible, and this means a lot,” Parks said. “The amount of aviation and everything that we have in our family, that’s what shaped me and helped mold me.”