F-15E pilot Lt. Col. Daren Sorenson, currently serving as staff director of the 414th Combat Training Squadron at Nellis AB, Nev., received his second Distinguished Flying Cross, recognized for his heroism in defending 50 coalition troops ambushed by insurgents in eastern Afghanistan last spring. Sorenson used his Strike Eagle’s munitions, in concert with low-altitude demonstrations of force, to disperse the focused insurgent attack during the May 25, 2011 mission. He then successfully coordinated strikes on insurgent positions concealed in the cliffs and caves surrounding the coalition group, according to Nellis officials. Sorenson received the DFC during a ceremony at Nellis on March 2, reported the Las Vegas Review-Journal. The Air Force awarded him his first DFC for his actions during the early stages of Operation Iraqi Freedom in 2003, when he located and helped destroy an armored division of the Iraqi Republican Guard, said the Nellis officials. (Nellis release)
Lt. Gen. Dan Caine, nominee to be chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, told the Senate Armed Services Committee that the Defense Department needs to upgrade its electronic warfare capability and its EW training ranges; just as his predecessor said at his own confirmation hearing.