Three airmen were among the seven military members honored May 16 for their volunteer work during a USA Freedom Corps President’s Volunteer Service Awards ceremony in Washington, D.C. Maj. Laird Abbott, assigned to the Air Staff, has served as a volunteer firefighter with five fire departments over the course of 20 years. MSgt. Tammy Caban, an Air National Guardsman at the National Guard Bureau, has volunteered with the Tragedy Assistance Program for Survivors since 2004, providing grief assistance, and assists patients at Walter Reed Army Medical Center in D.C. SMSgt. Rene Rubiella, an Air Force Reservist at Patrick AFB, Fla., volunteers for activities such as Habitat for Humanity and a local soup kitchen. (American Forces Press Service report by USAF TSgt. Adam Stump; NGB report by MSgt. Greg Rudl)
Gene Smith, Former POW and AFA Chair, Dies at 91
Jan. 19, 2026
Lt. Col. Richard “Gene” Smith, who overcame five and a half years as a prisoner of war in the notorious Hanoi Hilton from 1967 until 1973, died Jan. 16. He was one day short of his 91st birthday.
