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.
With key members of Congress wavering on the possibility of a $350 billion defense reconciliation bill, defense experts told Air & Space Forces Magazine that the Pentagon is likely drawing up budget backup plans—but such plans would face hard choices between high-end weapons and low-cost drones and other programs in…