A Combat Controller with the 21st Special Tactics Squadron, SSgt Gutierrez was awarded the Air Force Cross for heroism at the Battle of Herat (2009). Despite a collapsed lung from a gunshot wound, he continued to direct "danger close" airstrikes after a field medical procedure. While conducting a high-risk nighttime raid alongside Army Special Forces, his team was pinned down in a building by heavy insurgent fire. During the firefight, SSgt Gutierrez was struck in the chest by an enemy round, which shattered his ribs and caused a tension pneumothorax. Refusing medical evacuation and struggling to speak, he had the team medic decompress his lung with a needle while he simultaneously directed multiple A-10 gun runs, some as close as 30 feet from his position. His incredible endurance and precision targeting decimated the enemy force, securing the extraction of his entire element.