Comm Officer Gets Bronze: Lt. Col. Glenn Rattell has received a Bronze Star for his leadership as deputy commander of the 506th Air Expeditionary Group, Kirkuk AB, Iraq, where he directed survival and recovery operations while under fire from more than 50 enemy attacks. Rattell, who now is serving as chief of the communications officer assignments branch at Air Force Personnel Center, recalls, “When you’re convoy comes under fire, obviously you’re nervous, but then the training kicks in and you do what you’re trained to do.”
Less than a day after arriving in the Middle East, F-15E Strike Eagles from Seymour Johnson Air Force Base, N.C. defended Israel from an Iranian attack in April 2024. DUDE flight, four F-15Es from the 335th Fighter Squadron, downed two dozen Iranian drones in roughly 45 minutes.