The Air Force has awarded a Bronze Star medal to Col. Brian Neal, commander of the Maryland Air National Guard’s 135th Airlift Group, for his service while deployed as commander of the 447th Air Expeditionary Group in Iraq, reports WJZ-TV in Baltimore. The service also awarded a Bronze Star to Lt. Col. Paul Scholl, deputy commander of the 50th Mission Support Group at Schriever AFB, Colo., for his service while deployed to Iraq as commander of the 866th Expeditionary Security Forces Squadron.
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.
