The Air Force has awarded a Bronze Star medal to MSgt. Anthony Blackmon, an explosive ordnance disposal specialist, for his actions while deployed to Iraq. When he and other EOD team members were ambushed by insurgents, he directed returning fire to quell the attack. Air Combat Command selected Blackmon, who has also deployed to Afghanistan, to represent the command as a “warrior airman” during an orientation for new US Congress members at Langley AFB, Va. Blackmon is EOD flight chief of the 28th Civil Engineer Squadron at Ellsworth AFB, S.D. (Ellsworth report by A1C Abigail Klein)
The emphasis on speed in the Pentagon’s newly unveiled slate of acquisition reforms may come with increased near-term cost increases, analysts say. But according to U.S. defense officials, the new weapons-buying construct provides the military with enough flexibility to prevent runaway budget overruns in major programs.
