SMSgt. Gary Meacham of the 573rd Aircraft Maintenance Squadron at Hill AFB, Utah, on Feb. 24 received a Bronze Star medal for his meritorious service during a one-year deployment to Iraq that ended last July. The Standard-Examiner of Ogden reported Thursday that Meacham was superintendent of the 52nd Expeditionary Flying Training Squadron at Kirkuk Regional Air Base during this tour. In this role, he served as a combat air advisor to the Iraqi air force leadership, advising it on issues such as fixed-wing maintenance operations and production supervision. His efforts resulted in a large increase in the availability of training aircraft for the Iraqis.
The last remaining T-1 Jayhawk at JBSA-Randolph, Texas, took its final flight to the "Boneyard" at Davis-Monthan Air Force Base, Ariz., on July 15. The 99th Flying Training Squadron will train pilots using T-6 and simulator until it gets T-7 Red Hawk in fiscal 2026.