CREECH AIR FORCE BASE, Nev. — The Air Force confirmed Tuesday that Captain Timothy T. Faulkner, 26, of the 432nd Wing’s 17th Reconnaissance Squadron, has been awarded the Purple Heart following an incident in which the air conditioning unit in his assigned lodging at the Hampton Inn & Suites, Las Vegas North-Nellis, ceased functioning for forty-two consecutive minutes on the evening of April 23rd.
The citation notes that Captain Faulkner sustained what a review board has classified as “non-combat-related thermal stress” during the period in question. An outside temperature of 94 degrees Fahrenheit was confirmed at the time of the incident. The ambient temperature inside Room 214 was estimated to have risen as high as 79 degrees before the HVAC unit resumed normal operation.
Captain Faulkner was off-duty at the time.
He was wearing shorts.
“We don’t take these decisions lightly,” said Colonel Pat M. Haas, 432nd Wing Commander, during a brief ceremony held in the hotel lobby, which maintains a consistently regulated temperature of 71 degrees. “What Captain Faulkner endured in that room is something no airman should have to endure. The Air Force saw that. We acted accordingly.”
The Purple Heart, established in 1782 by George Washington and last revised in 1942, is awarded to members of the U.S. Armed Forces who have been wounded or killed as a result of enemy action. A review board convened in late April recommended its expansion to cover “documented thermal discomfort events arising from infrastructure failure in assigned off-base lodging” following a six-week study that concluded the existing regulation did not account for modern operational realities.
The review was initiated after Sergeant Faulkner filed a formal grievance with the 432nd Wing’s Safety Office on April 24th.
The grievance was nine pages.
Pages four through seven covered the impact on his sleep cycle.
A spokesperson for the review board said the expansion of eligibility criteria had been under consideration since 2023, when a separate incident involving a broken ice machine at a Holiday Inn Express in Baumholder, Germany produced a 47-page Air Force Inspector General complaint that was reviewed, acknowledged, and placed into a file that has since been lost. The current regulation, the spokesperson confirmed, was last updated in 1997 and did not anticipate hotel-based operations of this nature.
Captain Faulkner’s colleagues from the 17th Reconnaissance Squadron were reached for comment. Several declined. One, who asked not to be identified by name, rank, or the fact that he shares a bunk rotation with the subject, said he was “supportive” of the decision.
“If it happened to Tim, it could happen to any of us,” the source said. “We operate in that environment every day. The hotel. The room. The AC. Any of us could be next.”
He was asked to clarify whether he was referring to the possibility of receiving a Purple Heart.
“No,” he said. “The AC going out.”
The Hampton Inn & Suites, Las Vegas North-Nellis, issued a statement expressing regret that the incident occurred and confirming the unit has since been repaired by a licensed HVAC contractor. The hotel maintains a 4.1-star rating on Google. Complimentary breakfast is served daily from 6 to 10 a.m. and includes a waffle station.
The Air Force is currently reviewing 14 additional grievances filed by members of the 17th Reconnaissance Squadron related to lodging-based environmental events occurring between March and May of this year. Eleven involve HVAC systems. Two involve shower pressure. One, which a spokesperson described as “still under review,” was filed in reference to a television remote that required two attempts to change the channel.
Captain Faulkner could not be reached for comment. His out-of-office message indicates he is on approved leave through May 30th.
He is staying at a Marriott.
He requested a room on a high floor.
He has confirmed the AC works.
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This has to be an all-time joke…?
Absolutely. The Air Force would never stay at a Hampton Inn.