The Air Force has awarded the Bronze Star Medal to TSgt. Andrew LeBeau, an explosive ordnance disposal specialist with Air Force Reserve Command’s 944th Civil Engineer Squadron at Luke AFB, Ariz., for his actions while deployed to Afghanistan. He was an EOD team leader from May 9, 2009, to Nov. 3, 2009. His team’s work with US Special Operations Forces directly led to the capture or kill of key improvised explosive device facilitators and Taliban subcommanders. He also removed an unexploded rocket from the entrance to an Afghanistan girls’ school, following a Taliban attack. (Luke report by TSgt. Susan Stout)
Air Force exercises in the Indo-Pacific may soon get even bigger and more robust, as lawmakers move to invest more than $620 million in such efforts. The bulk of that money, contained in a $150 billion reconciliation package currently making its way through Congress, is $532.6 million for earmarked for…