Colonel Baine earns awards

***image1***Maj. Gen. Paul J. Fletcher, commander of the 16th Air Force, recently presented Col. Robert Baine with the Legion of Merit (pictured above) and the Bronze Star medal, given for heroic or meritorious achievement or service. The presentation took place at Ramstein.

For the Legion of Merit, Col. Baine guided the operations of seven wings and two groups for the Operations and Intelligence Division, Headquarters Third Air Force in Mildenhall, England. He also served as the deployed Group Commander for the 322nd Air Expeditionary Group in Kigali, Rwanda, directing airlift missions into the Darfur Region of Sudan.

To earn the Bronze Star, Col. Baine distinguished himself as commander of the 4th Expeditionary Air Support Operations Group in Baghdad from January to June. During his time there, he frequently deployed with his Airmen and created several groundbreaking procedures that raised counter-insurgency doctrine to a new level. In response to the February bombing at the Golden Mosque, his group provided expert planning and execution of air power at all echelons of command.

(Courtesy of USAFE Public Affairs)