The Air Force has created a special medal to “recognize the reality” that airmen are coming under enemy fire, particularly in nontraditional ways, says Lt. Gen. Roger Brady, USAF’s top personnel officer. The new award—the Air Force Combat Action Medal—will recognize airmen who have directly served in active combat, whether on the ground or in the air. Award of the medal, which will first appear in April, will start with a first-person account of combat action, and then proceed through the chain of command, reaching the commander of air force forces for final approval.
The U.S. thwarted a drone attack on U.S. forces at Al Asad air base in western Iraq on April 22, marking the first time that American troops have been targeted since February, U.S. officials said. “We can confirm it was an attack on Al Asad,” a defense official told Air & Space…