Maj. Matthew Gamblin and MSgt. Edwin Lambert were recently honored with the 2005 Gen. Lew Allen Jr. Trophy for their efforts to keep aircraft flying and munitions ready for the deployed force. Gamblin achieved a 99 percent launch rate for more than 2,000 combat sorties during his tour as maintenance operations officer at Ali Al Salem AB, Kuwait. Lambert led a team at Balad AB, Iraq, that launched 981 sorties for 2,629 flying hours and moved 410 Special Forces and more than 66,000 pounds of ammunition, resulting in the capture of four high value targets.
The use of a military counter-drone laser on the southwest border this week—which prompted the Federal Aviation Administration to abruptly close the airspace over El Paso, Texas—will be a “case study” on the complex web of authorities needed to employ such weapons near civilian areas and the consequences of agencies…
