News

Dover officer receives bronze star

  • Published
  • By Airman 1st Class James Bolinger
  • 436th Airlift Wing Public Affairs
DOVER AIR FORCE BASE, Del. --  A Dover security forces officer was awarded one of the highest medals in the Air Force after spending six months deployed to Iraq.

First Lieutenant Charity Winters, 436th Security Forces Squadron, received a Bronze Star May 30, for her leadership while deployed in Iraq.

The Bronze Star Medal is awarded to any person who distinguishes themselves by heroic or meritorious achievement or service, not involving aerial flight.

"(Lieutenant Winters) personally led several convoys into combat while in Iraq," said Col. Chad Manske, 436th Airlift Wing vice commander. "She was part of 400 combat missions, covering over 26,000 miles and got into three particular combat situations, which she led her combat-logistics patrol through."

Lieutenant Winters was the executive officer (second in charge), and a bravo flight leader of Detachment 2632D from Sept. 1, 2005 to January 25. The detachment was comprised of Air Force security forces, transportation, communications, personnel and vehicle mechanics Airmen.

Detachment 2632D was a 154-person unit, which ran gun trucks for the Army's Logistics Supply Area Anaconda, which is collocated with Balad Air Base, Iraq. Gun trucks are security vehicles for convoys, said Lieutenant Winters. They are armored Humvees and 5-ton trucks with 50-caliber machine guns and other machines guns on top.

"The driver of the supply trucks were civilians," she said. "We just protected them. We escorted convoys north, south, east and west from Mosul to Kuwait."

Many members of the unit were combat-lifesaver certified and earned several awards and decorations, including Air Force Commendation medals and Army Combat Action badges, while Lieutenant Winters was the second in command for the detachment, she said.

"Young Airmen were saving lives and putting bullets down range," said Lieutenant Winters.

The detachment also tested new Air Force tactical systems on the road.

"It truly was a leadership challenge," she said. "I still talk to the Airmen I was deployed with. The lifelong relationships built while (you are) deployed are some of the closest friends you can have."