TSgt. Heath Mooney and TSgt. Lawrence Lipinski, explosive ordnance disposal technicians with the 19th Civil Engineer Squadron at Little Rock AFB, Ark., have each earned a Bronze Star medal for meritorious service in Southwest Asia. For both airmen, it is their second Bronze Star. Mooney led an EOD team on 59 missions, neutralizing 8,550 explosive devices while deployed to Camp Taji, Iraq, supporting the Army. Lipinski led more than 66 missions, aiding in the destruction of roughly 5,200 pounds of explosives, while deployed with Marines at Operating Base Delaram, Afghanistan. “For every person who receives a Bronze Star, there’s someone else lying out injured somewhere. It’s a very humbling thing,” said Mooney, who, like Lipinski, received his medal Dec. 2. Lapinski got his first Bronze Star in Jan. 2007. (Little Rock report by SSgt. Nestor Cruz)
Trainees in Basic Military Training and technical school no longer have the option to try alternate PT drills if they fail an initial assessment, according to a policy change the Air Force made in April. The move is part of a larger shift out of the classroom and into hands-on,…