News

Insurance agent earns Bronze Star

  • Published
  • By Lt. Col. Anna Sullivan
  • 446th Airlift Wing Public Affairs
MCCHORD AIR FORCE BASE, Wash. --  It's easy to picture a trauma surgeon making life or death decisions, but an insurance agent from Everett saving lives as a logistics officer in the Air Force Reserve. No way. Way. 

Maj. Tony Edwards, commander of the 446th Logistics Readiness Flight, recently earned the prestigious Bronze Star for his role as the director of airlift for all the special operations forces in Afghanistan last year. 

Major Edwards, assigned to Bagram, AB, Afghanistan for six months supporting Coalition Joint Special Operations Task Force, said his first impression of the job was "hot." At first it was the temperature, then it was the intensity of support special operations forces provide in the field. 

"It was very intense," Major Edwards said. "They need - they have to have - your support. I'd get requests over the radio, from video feeds or on the computer. " 

The troops he supported were operating in places like the Helmand Province against the Taliban and Al Qaeda forces. Teams would go out on a normal mission that was supposed to last two days and encounter the enemy. That two-day mission would turn into a week. That meant they needed more ammo, more food, more of everything. 

"I would then secure immediate airlift. I had a great team working with me. We had Army ammo experts, riggers, and transportation specialists who would work to redirect airlift already in theater to get the special operations troops what they needed." 

The missions were almost all airdrop because of the conditions in Afghanistan. Whether it was a scheduled, routine mission or a "gotta have it right now or yesterday," the coordination to get the goods where they needed to be was complicated. 

"We just had to figure it out. Get the right people and remain completely focused on the troops in the field," Major Edwards said. 

The most meaningful missions for Major Edwards were aeromedical evacuations. The special operations units had medics assigned to provide field care to wounded Americans. But getting the wounded out fast and to more advanced care in Bagram or Kandahar could literally mean the difference between life and death. 

"When we'd get these calls, the focus was to get the injured to medical care as quickly as possible," said the major. 

In one case, Major Edwards got an Air National Guard C-130 they knew was in the area, redirected to pick up a seriously wounded Soldier. The C-130 arrived a lot faster than the Army expected it. Major Edwards is certain the Soldier survived because of the speed of the evacuation. "No doubt about it," he said with certainty. 

While he was taking care of business in the combat zone, his family and his employees were taking care of business at home. 

"After our initial shock, she (his wife, Nicole) was a complete trooper," Major Edwards said. "She was right there with regular care packages with my Starbucks coffee and licorice. When I came home, she was there to meet me at the gate at Sea-Tac airport. 

"My goal when I got home was to spend as much time as possible with my family," Major Edwards, the father of two, said. 

As for the State Farm insurance agency he has owned for more than seven years, Major Edwards said his staff took over operations for the six months so smoothly that he didn't have to worry about his business while he was gone. 

"They ran the agency as if I was there. If I'm not as needed as much as I thought, that's a good thing," Major Edwards said with a smile. 

Major Edwards , a 12-year veteran of the Air Force Reserve, said making life and death decisions on a regular basis changed his perspective. 

"Most of the difficulties we have here are not that bad," said Major Edwards. "And I learned that you never know when you'll have to make an important decision so you always have to be prepared. Always."