Mor
e than 200 airmen and soldiers on July 6 dedicated a dining facility at Bagram AB, Afghanistan, to the memory of SrA. Jonathan Yelner, who was killed in action April 29 while on a combat patrol near the base. Now flanking either side of the dining facility’s walkway are two signs, one depicting the timeline of the events on the day of his death and one including a snapshot of him right before a mission. Yelner, 29, of Lafayette, Calif., died from wounds he received when his vehicle struck an improvised explosive device while conducting a battle damage assessment with local Afghan tribal leaders in Kapisa province as part of a provincial reconstruction team. He was assigned to the 28th Aircraft Maintenance Squadron at Ellsworth AFB, S.D. The Air Force awarded him the Bronze Star posthumously in May. (Bagram report by Army Capt. Elizabeth Casebeer)
The Defense Department deployed dozens of medical personnel to two states and one territory to bolster civilian medical facilities battling COVID-19, and hundreds more remain on standby as the pandemic surges. About 60 Air Force nurses and other personnel deployed to hospitals and long-term care facilities in North Dakota, while…