“Space cadet” 2nd Lt. Randall Claar—adorned in dress blues and his 7th US Cavalry spurs—received the Gen. Jerome F. O’Malley Distinguished Space Leadership Award for 2006 for his use of space assets during battle. In March 2003, Claar was a staff sergeant combat weatherman attached to an Army unit making its way toward Baghdad. Under attack as a huge sandstorm engulfed the area, Claar still managed to use his satellite phone to warn other units of the approaching sandstorm, giving them time to cover. Claar also was the one who volunteered to walk through a field of unexploded ordnance to guide his Army team out of danger. He received a bronze star with valor for his actions. (Read more here.)
The U.S. military is carrying out intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance missions along the southern border and off the coast of Mexico using U.S. Air Force RC-135 Rivet Joint and U.S. Navy P-8 Poseidon aircraft as part of the Pentagon’s effort to secure the southern border at the direction of President…