The Air Force has awarded a Bronze Star Medal to TSgt. Benjamin Aylward, with the 341st Logistics Readiness Squadron at Malmstrom AFB, Mont., for his actions while deployed to Operation Iraqi Freedom. Aylward served as a convoy commander, completing more than 12 convoys during which he led 13 airmen and 12 soldiers who provided security for some 400 foreign nationals operating commercially contracted transports loaded with mission-critical cargo. (Malmstrom report by MSgt. Terry Nelson)
Airmen and Guardians in the Active and Reserve component, as well as civilian employees, in “mission critical and high-risk populations” are now required to receive influenza vaccinations annually to “preserve force readiness,” according to a recent Department of the Air Force memo.