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.
A-10 Thunderbolt II attack planes in the Middle East are flying with fresh modifications as the Air Force looks to make the plane more versatile amid America’s ongoing blockade of Iranian ports and a tenuous ceasefire in the U.S. air war against Iran.