The Air Force has awarded a Bronze Star to Capt. Samantha Elmore, a public health officer of the 9th Medical Operations Squadron at Beale AFB, Calif., for her efforts while deployed to Iraq. Elmore led a team in Baghdad that assessed sanitation and hygiene at city hospitals and the morgue that led to equipment and supplies improvements. She also helped create the first Preparatory Iraqi Nurse Corps.
The Air Force achieved its goal of recruiting 32,750 Active-Duty enlisted Airmen for 2026 five months ahead of schedule, military officials said this week—its biggest recruiting year in more than two decades.