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.
An important U.S. Air Force E-3 Sentry AWACS command and control plane was among the aircraft damaged in a March 27 Iranian missile and drone attack on Prince Sultan Air Base, Saudi Arabia, people familiar with the matter told Air & Space Forces Magazine.