Physician awarded Bronze Star

JOINT BASE PEARL HARBOR HICKAM, Hawaii -- Capt. Eric Baroni, 15th Airlift Wing Medical Group physician, received the Bronze Star combat award while working as the officer-in-charge of the Troop Medical Clinic, Headquarters 2nd Brigade, 203rd Corps, Forward Operating Base Rushmore, Sharana, Afghanistan and the Embedded Training Medical Officer Mentor for 4th Kandak, 2nd Brigade, 203rd Corps, Afghanistan National Army, while attached to Coalition Joint Task Force Phoenix in the Paktika Eastern province near the Pakistan border from June 11 through Dec. 16, 2009. While deployed to Southwest Asia, Capt. Baroni directly supervised nine junior medics from various services. Under his leadership, he weathered a 300 percent workload increase and treated more than 500 patients. He was directly responsible for the welfare of more than 200 individuals, including aiding more than 70 non-U.S. military patients who otherwise would not have had access to medical care. (U.S. Air Force illustration/Senior Airman Nathan Allen)