The Air Force has awarded the Bronze Star Medal to two airmen at Peterson AFB, Colo. for their actions in Iraq and Afghanistan. Capt. Kevin Lombardo, 21st Space Wing’s Security Forces, served as the battle captain of the Theatre Internment Facility operations center at Camp Bucca, Iraq, where he supervised more than 400 compound searches and helped keep the peace when 1,100 of the 15,000 detainees he oversaw rioted. Lombardo handled the situation and developed and coordinated standard operating procedures for use by the next facility operators. TSgt. Michael Smith, a joint terminal attack controller with the 13th Air Support Operations Squadron, served with Army Special Forces in Kandahar, Afghanistan, where he often had to join his Army teammates in ground combat as well as calling in numerous close air support strikes.
How Miss America 2024 Took the Air Force Somewhere New
Dec. 20, 2024
When 2nd Lt. Madison Marsh became the first ever active service member crowned Miss America on Jan. 14, top Air Force officials recognized a rare opportunity to reach women and girls who otherwise might not consider military service as an option.