The halls of military history often see the blending of fact and fiction to create military lore that persists throughout the ages. Members of the nation’s youngest military branch have long heard the case plight of the infamous Airman Snuffy. Somewhat analogous to the Marine Corps’ Gomer Pyle, Airman Snuffy would be the enlisted airman who simply can’t get anything right. To be called Airman Snuffy is an insult of both character and abilities that perhaps only those in the Air Force would recognize. However, what most in the Air Force fail to realize is that unlike Gomer Pyle,...

  Improvise, adapt, and overcome are the standing orders in combat in the absence of general direction.Those who fail to do so often fail both the mission and their fellow men when the enemy throws their plan into disarray. Those who embrace the direction to adapt can often walk away with the nation’s highest military honor for their tenacity and spirited fight. Such was the case of Captain Hilliard Wilbanks in Vietnam. Captain Wilbanks was the pilot of a Cessna 0-1E Bird Dog that was designed for reconnaissance missions and close air support. Equipped with only a handful of rockets...

  In the early days of the Global War on Terrorism, gallant men descended upon the mountains of Afghanistan to root out the Taliban from their strongholds. Prior to March of 2002, one would have to go back to the infamous Black Hawk Down incident in Somalia to find gallantry worthy of the nation’s highest military honor. Prior to that, one would need to harken back to the Vietnam War where men made their stand in the jungles of Vietnam. Yet, in one battle on a cold mountaintop in Afghanistan two men would emerge with the Medal of Honor setting...