Lajes Airman receives Bronze Star

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  • 65th Air Base Wing Public Affairs
LAJES FIELD, Azores --  A Lajes Airman was honored here with the fourth-highest combat award of the U.S. Armed Forces for distinguishing himself during a deployment to Afghanistan.

Master Sgt. Rigoberto Chacon, 65th Civil Engineer Squadron Programs Flight superintendent, was presented the Bronze Star Medal by Col. Jose A. Rivera, 65th Air Base Wing commander, during a ceremony here Aug. 6.

Sergeant Chacon earned the medal for leading his survey teams to 40 forward operating bases and combat outposts to create master plans for United States Forces Afghanistan South, and successfully bedding down over 40,000 combat forces in Regional Commands South and West.

"The deployment was the highlight of my twenty-year career and it was an honor serving next to our sister service and coalition partners," Sergeant Chacon said. "But it wasn't possible without many sacrifices - from those here at Lajes that took care of my duties and responsibilities while I was deployed; to the other Airmen I led that put their trust on me; my family that spent countless hours worrying when I went outside the wire; and the many soldiers of the 82nd Airborne Division, as well as the 2nd and 4th Infantry Divisions that provided our teams' security and support."

Sergeant Chacon designed and surveyed three unmanned aerial system runways and three helicopter landing zones for the 4th Brigade Combat Team of the 82nd Airborne Division and the 5th Stryker Brigade Combat Team of the 2nd Infantry Division for construction by engineers from Naval Mobile Construction Battalion Twenty Two (NMCB-22) and the Army's 19th Engineer Battalion.

The Bronze Star Medal was established by Executive Order, 4 February 1994 and is awarded to members in any branch of military service who distinguished themselves by heroic or meritorious achievement or service, not involving participation in aerial flight, in connection with military operations against an armed enemy.