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AFCENT leaders earn Bronze Stars

  • Published
  • By Airman 1st Class Michael Cossaboom
  • 20th Fighter Wing Public Affairs
SHAW AIR FORCE BASE, S.C. --  Two senior leaders from United States Air Forces Central Command were honored with Bronze Stars during a ceremony here Oct. 28.

Lt. Gen. John Hesterman, AFCENT commander, presented medals to Brig. Gen. Kevin Schneider, the assistant deputy commander, and Col. Jeffrey Fallesen, chief of staff, for their achievements during previous assignments.

“Being here with you and your families to present these awards is an honor,” Hesterman said. He told the families, “Your husbands and fathers did superb and important work for our nation.”

Schneider earned the Bronze Star for his service as commander of the 380th Air Expeditionary Wing in Southwest Asia from June 2013 to June 2014. During that time, he led 4,800 Airmen, Soldiers and Sailors in providing air power for that area of operations.

Fallesen served as director of joint air traffic management for International Security Assistance Force headquarters in Kabul, Afghanistan, from July 2013 to July 2014. In that assignment, he was responsible for the administrative management of Afghanistan’s more than 250,000 square miles of airspace.

The medal is the second Bronze Star for Schneider and the first for Fallesen, who were accompanied by their families at the ceremony.

“It’s humbling to be receiving this award today,” Schneider said. “My family doesn’t get to see me receive awards that often, so for them to be here means a lot to me, especially since I credit them with a lot of my success. Without them, I couldn’t do it.”

Hesterman, who also serves as the Combined Forces Air Component Commander for the U.S. Central Command area of operations and spends most of his time in the AOR and at the Combined Air Operations Center at Al Udeid Air Base, Qatar, was visiting Shaw to meet with the staff and thank them for their excellent work and for taking great care of each other.

He told AFCENT Airmen during a breakfast on Oct. 26, “The exceptional work done here at AFCENT-Shaw is critical to operations and every bit as important as the work and execution done in theater.”