The Air Force awards the Air Force Cross posthumously to SrA. Jason D. Cunningham, a pararescue jumper (PJ), for his heroic actions March 4, 2002, during Operation Anaconda in Afghanistan.
Less than a day after arriving in the Middle East, F-15E Strike Eagles from Seymour Johnson Air Force Base, N.C. defended Israel from an Iranian attack in April 2024. DUDE flight, four F-15Es from the 335th Fighter Squadron, downed two dozen Iranian drones in roughly 45 minutes.