SMSgt. Gary Meacham of the 573rd Aircraft Maintenance Squadron at Hill AFB, Utah, on Feb. 24 received a Bronze Star medal for his meritorious service during a one-year deployment to Iraq that ended last July. The Standard-Examiner of Ogden reported Thursday that Meacham was superintendent of the 52nd Expeditionary Flying Training Squadron at Kirkuk Regional Air Base during this tour. In this role, he served as a combat air advisor to the Iraqi air force leadership, advising it on issues such as fixed-wing maintenance operations and production supervision. His efforts resulted in a large increase in the availability of training aircraft for the Iraqis.
Air Force Gen. Jacqueline D. Van Ovost—a trailblazer and one of the first 10 women to reach a four-star rank across the U.S. military—retired and passed control of U.S. Transportation Command to Air Force Gen. Randall Reed on Oct. 4, finishing an eventful tenure at TRANSCOM.