Adm. Mike Mullen, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, last week presented the Bronze Star with Valor Medal to three pararescuemen during a ceremony at Nellis AFB, Nev. Mullen individually recognized TSgt. Jeffrey Hedglin, TSgt. Ryan Manjuck, and SSgt. Asher Woodhouse for their courage under enemy fire in rescuing three wounded US soldiers in Afghanistan on June 3, 2010. Each airman is assigned to Nellis’ 58th Rescue Squadron. “I’m accepting this award on behalf of the rescue community as a whole,” said Hedglin during the April 14 ceremony. He acted as the Guardian Angel team leader. He organized and led the pararescuemen, carrying a wounded soldier more than 25 meters across open terrain while under fire to a rescue helicopter for evacuation. Manjuck, while under enemy fire, provided hoist extractions for the wounded soldiers and gave medical treatment to one who was critically injured. “[W]hat I did is nothing compared to some of my brethren in the rescue community who do this every day,” he said. Woodhouse alerted a helicopter aircrew of incoming surface-to-air missiles and safely evacuated two of the injured soldiers from the hostile area. (Nellis report by SrA. Michael Charles)
The Air Force and Boeing agreed to a nearly $2.4 billion contract for a new lot of KC-46 aerial tankers on Nov. 21. The deal, announced by the Pentagon, is for 15 new aircraft in Lot 11 at a cost of $2.389 billion—some $159 million per tail.