The Air Force posthumously awarded a Bronze Star to A1C LeeBernard Chavis, who was killed by sniper fire Oct. 14 while working with a military police training team in Baghdad. The Red Tail Flyer reports that airmen and soldiers at Balad AB, Iraq gathered at the base town hall for a memorial service. The Washington, D.C., native enlisted in the Air Force in March 2004. He was 21 years old.
The U.S. military is maintaining a beefed-up presence in the Middle East, including fighters and air defense assets, following the U.S. strikes on Iranian nuclear facilities June 22 and subsequent retaliation by the Iranians against Al Udeid Air Base in Qatar.