Sergeant Major Thomas P. Payne served in Iraq as an Army Ranger. On October 22nd, 2015, Payne’s special operations unit was paired with Kurdish allies in order to complete a hostage rescue mission from an ISIS compound. Payne continuously wethered enemy fire, brownout conditions, and smoke from a burning building on the brink of collapse in order to help rescue 75 Iraqi hostages.  Sergeant Major Thomas P. Payne was awarded the Medal of Honor for his heroism and selfless service on that day.