During his first trip to Southwest Asia, Air Force Secretary Michael Wynne awarded the Bronze Star to Lt. Col. Ed O’Neal for his actions during a terrorist attack in Khobar, Saudi Arabia, on May 29, 2004. O’Neal helped rescue a family trapped in a burning apartment and aided Saudi security forces in their efforts to locate the terrorists. O’Neal was a military training advisor at the time. He is back in SWA as the US Central Command Air Forces forward personnel and manpower director.
The Air Force overall reduced its size by 120 aircraft in fiscal year 2021, but kept about the same number of fighter, bomber and attack aircraft, according to data supplied by the service. The F-35 fleet saw the biggest increase while the B-1B bomber fleet saw the largest decline.