Roy Vaughn, an Air Force Special Operations Command exercise planner, was awarded the Polish Armed Forces Medal during a ceremony in Warsaw last week for his help integrating Polish special operations forces with the US-based exercise Emerald Warrior, states an AFSOC release. The exercise practices an “air-centric” approach to special operations that leads to “improved wartime interoperability among partner nations,” according to the May 9 release. “The actions and assistance provided by Mr. Vaughn have helped ensure the security of Poland,” said Col. Piotr Gastal, commander of Poland’s operational maneuver response group. “With his help, the [group] has become an effective partner in Iraq, Afghanistan, and throughout the other regions where we are engaged in battle.”
A new report from the Government Accountability Office calls for the Pentagon’s Chief Technology Officer to have budget certification authority over the military services’ research and development accounts—a move the services say would add a burdensome and unnecessary layer of bureaucracy.
