36th CONS NCO earns Bronze Star

  • Published
  • By Tech. Sgt. Brian Bahret
  • 36th Wing Public Affairs
ANDERSEN AIR FORCE BASE, Guam --  For his significant contributions helping rebuild Iraq's infrastructure and his lifesaving efforts in Baghdad, a 36th Contracting Squadron sergeant was presented the Bronze Star Medal in a ceremony Nov. 26 at the base theater here.

Tech. Sgt. Michael Allen returned in July from a six-month deployment to the International Zone where he served a contingency contracting officer for the Joint Contracting Command's Multi-National Security Transition Command-Iraq Support Division. Then a staff sergeant, he was responsible for developing contracts focused on improving Iraq's infrastructure, command and control and training capabilities.

Sergeant Allen helped build entire Iraqi bases, training facilities, police stations, hospitals, and command and control centers, "projects that would help rebuild the Iraqi military infrastructure so they can be self sustaining and rely less on our military support," he explained.

"He also took the lead of the biggest contract done in our office to date," said Lt. Col. Michael Dombrowski, Sergeant Allen's deployed unit commander. "He saved the day on numerous projects by picking them up mid-stream to keep them going and all were for the Iraqi Police and Army to train and stage them. This will directly result in less U.S. troops needed to accomplish the mission there."

Sergeant Allen said he enjoyed supporting the mission in Iraqi.

"It's neat, because you're part of both sides," he said. "You're part of making them a more self-sustaining country. At the same time, you're making things safer for the troops that are actually [deployed] there."

Brig. Gen. Phil Ruhlman, 36th Wing commander, presented Sergeant Allen with the Bronze Star. In front of a packed theater which included Sergeant Allen's newlywed bride Rafaela, General Ruhlman spoke on the significance of the accomplishment.

"When you talk about earning the Bronze Star as a staff sergeant, I think it speaks tremendous volumes about the capability of our NCO corps," he said. "We're talking about an individual here who didn't just do his job, he saved lives."

Early in his deployment, opposition forces increased the frequency of rocket attacks on the International Zone.

"You kind of get used to the rocket hits and think it will never hit here," he said. "But you worry about whether something like that were to happen if you would know what to do."
During one attack Sergeant Allen was taking cover in a bunker when a rocket struck a nearby building. Before he fully realized what had happened he found himself reacting.
"We heard people yell 'we need help,'" Sergeant Allen recalled. He and a few others rushed from their bunker to assist the wounded.

"I hollered for everybody to get the litters," said the 33-year-old veteran. "I showed them how to put the litter together and coordinated the crew to go in and start carrying out the wounded."

"Honestly, it's surprising how much you actually remember when you have to," he said. "It's like everybody just knew what to do."

He credited Air Force's Contingency Skills Training Course and previous Army training for helping him stay focused under attack. "It was just something from CST training and from training the Army gave me on my first deployment in Iraq. I remembered part of it from a Self Aid Buddy Care course they had at my last base where they did drills and showed us how to put them together."

He said the medal was unexpected and he deeply appreciates the men and women who served alongside him.

"I never imaged I would get a Bronze Star on this deployment let alone ever get a Bronze Star," said Sergeant Allen. "I was really not expecting it at all, it was a huge honor and I'm highly grateful that they put me in for it."