FORT WAYNE AIR NATIONAL GUARD BASE, Ind. — Senior Master Sgt. David J. Bush was awarded the Bronze Star for Meritorious Service during a ceremony at the 122nd Fighter Wing, Fort Wayne, Indiana. Bush received the prestigious award for meritorious service achievement from Aug. 11, 2020 to Jan. 25, 2021 while serving as first sergeant to over 1,000 personnel at Kandahar Airfield, Afghanistan.

“This great honor is not only a reflection on my service, so much as a reflection on everybody I was working with at that time,” said Bush. “We all worked together to do what we were sent there to do.”

This is an important achievement, said Brig. Gen. Michael D. Stohler, Indiana assistant adjutant general – Air. Bronze Stars are not gifts, these are earned through hard work and dedication. I greatly appreciate everything Senior Master Sgt. Bush does for the wing. It has been an honor working with him, and I can’t think of a more deserving person.

I didn’t know what I was walking into, said Bush. I made my mind up that I was just going to jump in, build a good relationship with the commander, and provide what was needed.

“I was originally assigned to a squadron upon arriving there,” said Bush. “Then over time those responsibilities grew to include filling in as a group first sergeant for about a month or so, and then towards the end of my time I was the first sergeant for two separate squadrons, and then also a superintendent for one of those squadrons.”

What this shows, is when we deploy you never know what you’re going to get into, said Chief Master Sgt. Michael E. Dixon, Jr., Indiana State command chief. Senior Bush put in the work ahead of deployment by picking the brains of other first sergeants to figure out how to set us up for the win, and then he took care of it down range. We are very proud of him.

“In a nutshell, a first sergeant’s duties are to take care of the people who complete the mission,” said Bush. “As a first sergeant you are responsible for the welfare and wellbeing of the Airmen, whether it’s within a squadron that you are assigned to or within a group, or possibly even at the wing level. Within a shop, everyone is focused on the mission, but life happens that’s not directly related to the mission. The first sergeant’s responsibility is to assist that member in addressing those issues.”