Kadena officer awarded Bronze Star for role in Afghanistan

  • Published
  • By By Staff Sgt. Jason Lake
  • 18th Wing Public Affairs
KADENA AIR BASE, Japan --  Three years ago Cadet Amanda Reed was organizing and leading her cheerleading teammates during football games at the Air Force Academy. Now, as an Air Force first lieutenant, she is being awarded the Bronze Star medal for volunteering to organize and lead thousands of 'teammates' on the front lines.

From June to December last year, First Lt. Amanda Reed deployed to Forward Operating Base Hughie - an Afghan National Army post near Jalalabad, Afghanistan - where she served as a brigade battle captain with the U.S. Army's 201st Corps, 2nd Brigade.

As part of the Combined Security Transition Command - Afghanistan embedded training team mission, Lieutenant Reed led Airmen, soldiers and sailors with the task of training and advising 2,500 Afghan National Army soldiers in six Kandaks (battalions). In a country devastated by decades of civil war, widespread illiteracy and lack of modern infrastructure, the lieutenant's team had the difficult challenge of training ANA troops how to fight, feed and follow orders while building the trust of a national army within a nomadic tribal culture.

"We essentially used the 'teach a man how to fish' concept," explained Lieutenant Reed, who was presented the Bronze Star medal by Brig. Gen. Ken Wilsbach, 18th Wing commander, April 16 in front of her coworkers in the 18th Maintenance Group. "We showed the Kandaks offensive and defensive tactics, provided weapons and convoy training, and also trained them how to improve discipline, feed their troops through supply chains and reward soldiers for good performance."

The lieutenant from Orlando, Fla., logged more than 3,000 convoy miles throughout Eastern Afghanistan while visiting and resupplying many of the 32 forward operating bases and outposts monitoring 16,000 square miles near the Pakistan border.

"We were on the road a lot because the Brigade commander wanted to see how his troops were doing in all the Kandak outposts," she explained. "[The Afghan commander] was a good leader who understood what we were trying to do there and conveyed that to his troops."

One achievement Lieutenant Reed is particularly proud of is the fact that she helped establish the first ANA air liaison office where Afghans learned how to plan and execute airlift and close air support missions. According to Lieutenant Reed's medal citation, the effort significantly reduced the number of redundant ANA airlift requests and no-show passengers on flights saving an estimated $2 million.

"The deployment was a great experience and I'm glad I had the opportunity to do it," she said. "The best part of the deployment was the relationships and bonds created with my team while we were all there."

Unfortunately, Lieutenant Reed won't have more time to bond or share her experiences with coworkers here at Kadena. The newlywed recently finished out-processing and departs this weekend for Aviano Air Base, Italy, to be reunited with her husband under a joint spouse assignment.