SSgt. Robert Gutierrez Jr., an Air Force Special Operations Command combat controller, receives the Air Force Cross for his actions Oct. 5, 2009, in Afghanistan. During a lengthy firefight, Gutierrez accurately guided close air support at a “danger-close” range helping to decimate the enemy and allow his team to escape the kill zone without additional casualties. Even though wounded, losing more than five pints of blood, and having a burst eardrum (following close-in strafing by A-10s he directed), he continued to direct aircraft overhead, called in his own medevac, and walked himself to the landing zone.
The Air Force and industry partners have broken ground on a prototype launch silo for the service’s next-generation Sentinel nuclear intercontinental ballistic missile.
