Lt. Col. Dean C. Phillips Jr. received a Bronze Star for meritorious service as operations officer and site commander for the Coalition Military Assistance Training Team, New Al Muthana AB, Iraq. Phillips, who is chief of the Joint Strike Fighter Engines Division, Aeronautical Systems Center, Wright-Patterson AFB, Ohio, directed the construction of the air base, which is the first Iraqi Air Force facility, and provided oversight for training Iraqi officers.
The Air Force is launching an effort to develop a new stand-off missile with a range of 1,000 nautical miles, or 1,150 miles, that would eventually be used for both air-to-air and air-to-surface missions.