Grissom loggie earns Bronze Star in Iraq Published Dec. 15, 2005 By SrA Jonathan Jones 434th ARW Public Affairs GRISSOM AIR RESERVE BASE, Ind. -- Maj. James Klein, operations officer for the 434th Logistics Readiness Squadron, was awarded the Bronze Star for his efforts in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom.While deployed to the Green Zone in Baghdad, he served as the chief of air movements in a multi-national security transition command. In addition, his command worked in a joint service environment. Their mission was to recruit, train, equip and advise Iraqi Security Forces, which included the Iraqi Army, Air Force, Navy units and the Iraqi National Police Service. After receiving the Bronze Star Medal, his family and he felt a sense of pride in this great honor, Klein said. “A personal validation that I made a contribution,” he said. There was no specific accomplishment that resulted in him receiving the medal but a culmination of the entire tour’s accomplishments, he said. “Principally most of all of my accomplishments were in planning and coordinating air lift support for not only American force but Iraqi forces,” he said. “The total effort is what means the most to me." From executing night missions in support of combat operations to coordinating air movements-- including rotary, ground and fixed wing missions-- his command had a 95 percent mission execution rate.While deployed, Klein met dignitaries like Dan Rather and Sen. Hillary Clinton among others. Although he did not feel like a celebrity for meeting these individuals he says there are others who received that status. “The only celebrity that mattered in our command was our three-star and a lot of Iraqi general officers,” he said.
