The Air Force has awarded the Bronze Star to four explosive ordnance disposal airmen assigned to Hill AFB, Utah. They are: SSgt. Evan Knight, SSgt. Bradley Kline, SSgt. Steven Overstreet, and SSgt. William White. SrA. Brok McCarthy reports that Knight led a team that cleared 68 EOD incidents in an area covering 500 square miles, considered the busiest IED area in Iraq. On a 120-hour mission to clear various Iraqi roadways, Kline and his team repelled sniper fire, subduing the threat. Overstreet and his team dealt with 30 IEDs and collected more than 3,000 pieces of ordnance. He personally completed 134 combat missions. White’s team handled one-third of the multinational division north’s workload, and White aided a team member knocked unconscious by an IED.
The Pentagon announced new long-term agreements with four defense companies May 13 to develop and produce large numbers of low-cost cruise missiles. And while the effort will focus mostly on the Army to start, it pairs with Air Force efforts to find more affordable munitions.