CMSgt. William Brown, a native of Bristol, Conn., has received a Bronze Star Medal for his meritorious service during a four-month deployment to Afghanistan last year. The Bristol Press reported Monday that Brown led more than 500 airmen at Kandahar Air Field, where he improved communications and rapport across the numerous coalition units operating. And, the newspaper reported that his citation noted his leadership contributed to the execution of 998 aircraft sorties that resulted in 10,541 hours of armed overwatch and medical evacuation.
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.