Chief of Staff Gen. Mark Welsh will present the Silver Star to two Vietnam veterans on Dec. 17, the Air Force announced. CMSgt. Ronald Brodeur and Sgt. Eric Roberts II were part of a helicopter crew shot down in Duc Lap, Vietnam, on Feb. 20, 1969. While rescuing a six-man, long-range reconnaissance patrol, their crew was surrounded and in danger of being overrun by a larger enemy force, according to the Air Force. Welsh will award the medals to Brodeur and Roberts for their gallantry and devotion to duty during a ceremony at the Pentagon.
In a nighttime ceremony contrived to continue concealment of many of its features, the new B-21 bomber rolled out of Northrop Grumman's Palmdale, Calif. plant Dec. 2. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin said the aircraft's advanced technology represents "deterrence, the American way."