The Air Force has awarded Bronze Star medals to three explosive ordnance disposal specialists at Hurlburt Field, Fla. They are SMSgt. Marin Cortez, SSgt. Brad Ferguson, and SSgt. Brian Shepherd. All three supported the Army’s 2nd Brigade Combat Team, 10th Mountain Division, in Iraq last year. Cortez led an EOD flight covering 571 square miles, while Ferguson and Shepherd served as team leaders, eliminating numerous improvised explosive devices and weapons caches. (Hurlburt report by TSgt. Angela Shepherd)
Less than a day after arriving in the Middle East, F-15E Strike Eagles from Seymour Johnson Air Force Base, N.C. defended Israel from an Iranian attack in April 2024. DUDE flight, four F-15Es from the 335th Fighter Squadron, downed two dozen Iranian drones in roughly 45 minutes.