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January 29, 2010 in City
Fairchild airman awarded bronze star
A Fairchild Air Force base airman was awarded the bronze star on Friday for his command of dangerous convoy missions in Iraq last year, base officials said.
Tech Sgt. Aaron M. Cecil was cited for successfully completing 15 convoys that supplied 23 forward bases in Iraq. The missions were finished with a 100 percent success rate.
He served as a convoy commander and squad leader for the 70th Medium Truck Detachment.
On one mission, a tractor-trailer rig driven by a contract worker went out of control and ran off a supply route. The vehicle rolled.
Cecil was credited for quickly stopping the convoy and establishing a security zone around the site, and his actions saved the life of the driver, according to the official narrative accompanying his bronze star.
Cecil’s “selfless service, devotion to duty and commitment to the overall success of the detachment reflect great credit upon himself,” his commanders wrote in the narrative.
During his deployment from last April to October, Cecil traversed 13,614 miles of supply routes and delivered 24,480 tons of supplies. His missions involved a total of 480 tractor-trailer rigs driven under contract with the military.
“He painstakingly worked with customers, upload personnel, convoy support teams and higher headquarters to ensure the correct cargo was loaded and delivered to the proper mission-sustaining locations,” the citation said.
He serves with the 92nd Logistics Readiness Squadron. The bronze star was pinned at a ceremony Friday at the base theater.
Cecil has been in the Air Force for 15 years and lists McAllen, Tex., as his hometown.
Returning farmland to a state of nature 
Lee_Johnson on January 29 at 6:58 p.m.
Mr Prager, there are no soldiers on Fairchild AFB. Soldiers serve in the ARMY. Sailors serve in the NAVY. Marines serve in the MARINES. An AIRMAN serves in the Air Force.
So, you have just insulted every member of the US Air Force past and present, ESPECIALLY TSGT Cecil.
MSGT Lee Johnson
USAF retired
addyh on January 29 at 8:00 p.m.
Thank you for pointing out the error, Mr. Johnson. I can assure no insult was intended - it was a mistake and it has been corrected.
Addy Hatch, city editor
johnclarke on January 29 at 8:30 p.m.
Addy, as a USAF veteran I can assure you there is no insult in this wonderful article. It’s a common mistake and I’m thinking all vets regardless of branch would join me in thanking you and the Spokesman for seeing this brave airman receives the recognition he deserves.
MSGT (ret) Johnson - thanks for your service and let’s stand at ease, shall we ?
majorpain on January 29 at 8:40 p.m.
I would like to start of by saying that I agree with Lee. As a former Marine I get very annoyed, to say the least, at being called a “soldier”. The media drops the ball all the time on that one, they should know better, if they get simple things like that wrong what else are they getting wrong?
I also greatly appreciate the service of Tech Sgt. Aaron M. Cecil. However, I don’t feel his actions are in line with being awarded the Bronze Star. In the Marine Corps he might have been awarded with a slap on the shoulder followed by “good job Marine” by his/her C.O. or at the very most, a Navy Achievement Medal.
Semper Fi