Fairchild captain gets Bronze Star
Air Force officer honored for his work in Afghanistan
A Fairchild Air Force Base captain received a Bronze Star on Monday for his work with the Army and international forces in Afghanistan.
Capt. Carl Close received the award at a ceremony recognizing his work in Kandahar, Afghanistan, where he was stationed from April 2007 to April 2008 on a special assignment for the U.S. Army.
“I was an Air Force officer training foreign military on an Army logistics system with Canadian, British and Dutch forces involved,” Close said in a statement released by the base public affairs office.
The statement accompanying his Bronze Star described him as “a logistical wizard under the toughest circumstances” and said his unit delivered supplies to forward bases including fuel, ammunition and combat vehicles.
He helped Canadian and British medics treat and transport a critically wounded civilian who was abandoned at a checkpoint at the Kandahar airfield, and he provided sanctuary and transportation to a witness under a death threat who was needed for an Air Force investigation.
At Fairchild, Close serves as a logistics readiness officer, which involves overseeing such activities as fuel operations and transportation.