The Air Force has awarded Bronze Star medals for meritorious service to Lt. Col. Susan Bassett, 1st Lt. Bryan Bouchard, and SMSgt. Bobby Simmons Jr. Bassett, chief nurse with the 882nd Training Group at Sheppard AFB, Tex., helped train nurses of the Afghan National Army during a year-long deployment to Kandahar. (Sheppard report by A1C Candy Miller) Bouchard is a public affairs officer at Luke AFB, Ariz., and served for six months in Iraq as the sole PAO for a special operations task force. (Luke release) Simmons, with the 5th Combat Communications Squadron at Robins AFB, Ga., helped train Afghanistan’s only deployable signal battalion and commanded 425 convoys. (Robins report by Wayne Crenshaw)
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.