The Air Force has bestowed the 2006 Col. James Jabara Award for excellence in airmanship upon Capt. John Vargas, a 1996 graduate of the Air Force Academy. Vargas, an F-16 pilot with the 555th Fighter Squadron, Aviano AB, Italy, has completed 45 combat missions, comprising more than 200 hours in Operation Iraqi Freedom, Operation Enduring Freedom, and Operation Joint Forge. He demonstrated his skill when he flew at high speed and low altitude—expending flares—directly over enemy forces attacking a coalition convoy, allowing the convoy to move to safety.
The Sentinel Launch Support System, the digital backbone for testing the new intercontinental ballistic missile over its expected 50-year life, has completed critical design review, Northrop Grumman said Oct. 20.
