53d Wing Airman earns Bronze Star

  • Published
  • By Staff Sgt. Joshua Stevens
  • 325th Fighter Wing Public Affairs
TYNDALL AIR FORCE BASE, Fla. --  Air Force officials awarded a Bronze Star Medal June 12 to a Tyndall Airman from the 16th Electronic Warfare Squadron's Detachment One for his supportive efforts of Operation Enduring Freedom in a combat zone.  

When awarded for bravery, the Bronze Star is the fourth-highest combat award of the U.S. Armed Forces and the ninth-highest military award (including both combat and non-combat awards) in the order of precedence of U.S. military decorations.

Capt. Blair Byrem, 16 EWS, Det. 1 Maintenance Operations officer, was awarded his first Bronze Star for meritorious service during a six-month deployment as the electronic warfare officer for the 201st Engineer Battalion, Task Force Workhorse, Joint Task Force Paladin, Combined Joint Task Force 101 at a Forward Operating Base near Bagram Airfield, Afghanistan.

The award does not come as a surprise to Captain Byrem's Tyndall leadership.

"His intensity is astounding," said Maj. Billy Edmunds, 16 EWS, Det.1 commander. "He is always on the go and getting things accomplished, but he is not alone; he brings others with him, teaching and leading them along the way. His biggest attribute is how he can look at something and recognize what the issues and limiting factors are; however he does not stop there, he attacks those issues with his trademark ferocity and smoothes the way - where some might complain about an issue, he goes at it head-on."

Among the many accomplishments in the captain's award narrative, a stand-out speaks of a situation where he had to "swiftly implement" emergency system upgrades.

"On Oct. 24, 2008, two remote controlled improvised explosive devices were detonated on the 201 EB and the JTF Paladin Team," Captain Byrem said. "The first RCIED detonated on a Mine-Resistant, Ambush-Protected vehicle in a Route Clearance Patrol in the Eastern Paktika Province. The vehicle was rendered inoperable with minor injuries sustained by the occupants."

The encounter was from over, however.

"When my buddies responded to conduct post-blast operations," he continued, "a second RCIED was detonated within feet of them. By the grace of God, the bomb maker was inept at this type of IED. One of my friends sustained minor frag to the face, while a couple of others received 'kick-out' from the rocks and over-pressure - it nearly took out the entire Paladin team.

"After the mission was over, we performed an analysis of the situation and equipment. Initially it appeared operator error was the causation of the dual detonation, but I had operated with this team before and knew better. After working non-stop for 36 hours and completely overhauling the system, we determined a coalition tactic, technique and procedure resulted in a catastrophic system anomaly, which proved a critical vulnerability, enabling the enemy to complete a successful detonation. As a result, we pushed an emergency change to the TTP for the Afghanistan Area of Operation.

"After the Oct. 24 incident we had zero RCIED detonations in my area," he stated.

The captain speaks fondly of the members of his team.

"(Those guys) were my teammates, best friends and those whom I operated with 'outside the wire' with on a regular basis," he said. "(The drive to my success) has always been about my bros."

He is modest about the recognition.

"I felt most recognized when my teammates not only wanted me 'outside the wire' with them, but came to expect it and trust me to have their back," he said. "I appreciate the fact the good work our entire team did is really what is being recognized here. We don't need an award to strive for excellence, we are all just about doing a good job for our bros and for our own pride... mostly we're just out having fun. I highly recommend every Airman to volunteer for at least one deployment where they go 'outside the wire' regularly to a forward location."

This humility is ever-present to his commander.

"He is totally dedicated to the mission and leads and drives others to accomplish more than they thought possible," Major Edmunds said. "He is the epitome of an Air Force officer, but he is very humble about it. He sees nothing important about being recognized for his personal achievements - he looks at it as getting the job done."