Maj. Douglas Ware, now chief of the airfield operations and procedures branch within Air Mobility Command headquarters at Scott AFB, Ill., received a Bronze Star Medal for his meritorious service in Iraq during a year-long deployment that concluded on June 15. Ware “cultivated lasting improvements to the Iraqi national airspace system” during his time in Baghdad as an air traffic control program manager and advisor to Iraqi air force headquarters, according to his award citation and narrative. These efforts aided in the phased transfer of airspace from coalition forces to the Iraqi government, states the documents.
The Pentagon is counting on Congress to navigate a legislative tightrope and pass a party-line bill to fund nearly a quarter of its $1.5 trillion budget request for fiscal 2027, including billions of dollars for top priorities like Golden Dome, the F-35, munitions, and unmanned systems. Experts and lawmakers from…