Attending the Air Force Association’s Air & Space Conference in Washington, D.C., as one of USAF’s 12 outstanding airmen of the year, SSgt. Kenneth Walker, with the Washington Air National Guard’s 116th Air Support Operations Squadron, received another honor—award of the Bronze Star with Valor by Chief of Staff Gen. Norton Schwartz on Sept. 14 at the conference. Walker received the medal for his heroic actions during a firefight on May 24, 2009, while deployed as a tactical air control party member with the 817th Expeditionary ASOS and the Army’sTask Force SPADER in Afghanistan. (USAF release)
The rate of building B-21 bombers would speed up if the fiscal 2026 defense budget passes. But it remains unclear how much capacity would be added, and whether the Air Force would simply build the bombers faster, or buy more.
