CMSgt. James Lucas, 48th Fighter Wing command chief at RAF Lakenheath, Britain, received a Bronze Star Medal for his actions during a deployment to Joint Base Balad, Iraq, as superintendent of the 732nd Air Expeditionary Group. Col. Jay Silveria, 48th FW commander, awarded Lucas the medal during a July 27 ceremony. Lucas was recognized for his accomplishments in helping the expeditionary group receive, train, equip, deploy, and redeploy 1,500 combat airmen, the group’s largest rotation to date, and for his participation in outside-the-wire combat vehicle and foot patrols. “I feel very privileged and honored,” said Lucas of the award. He added, “I have never been more proud of my service or to be an airman, than in the company of the people I was working with.” (Lakenheath report by SrA. Kristopher Levasseur)
The Air Force is planning to award Northrop Grumman a contract that could allow the RQ-4 Global Hawk to keep flying into 2033. The Air Force Life Cycle Management Center posted a presolicitation notice Aug. 17 saying it plans to award Northrop a sole-source contract for development, modernization, retrofit, and…