Nellis captain receives Bronze Star Published May 30, 2007 By Airman 1st Class Oleksandra G. Manko Nellis Public Affairs NELLIS AIR FORCE BASE, Nev. -- One of Nellis' own received a Bronze Star for her outstanding service in Afghanistan from May 2006 to May 2007 in a ceremony held in Kabul, Afghanistan, May 1. "I am humbled," said Capt.Maria Moss, a native of New York and a maintenance officer with the 763rd Maintenance Squadron. "It is a good thing to be able to have an impact on development of Afghanistan, help build structure and stability, develop their army and air corps, help bring credibility to the Afghanistan government, and give the citizens a sense of hope for their future." Captain Moss served as a security assistance officer at the Combined Security Transition Command-Afghanistan during her year-long tour. This was her third trip to Afghanistan. "I am waiting for the next phone call for me to pack my bags and head to the flight line," she said. "[Deploying for a year] is a trying thing ... but it was one of the most rewarding things I've done." During her deployment she managed a $5.6 billion budget arranging purchases of humvees, weapons and uniforms for the Afghanistan army and Mi-17 helicopters and fixed-wing aircraft for Afghanistan air corps. Captain Moss also designated funding for advanced training for higher ranking Afghanistan officers at Fort Benning, Ga., and construction of hospitals, both civilian and military. She organized purchases and maintenance of equipment that Coalition Forces required and reported to the Minister of Defense how and why the money was spent. She also developed a budget of $5.9 billion for 2008. One of the biggest projects, she said, was organizing of Afghanistan National army commandos and building a training camp for them in Afghanistan. They were previously trained in Jordan by US Army Special Forces. The project cost $3.5 million. "She is extremely dedicated, very knowledgeable in what she does and very persistent," said Col. Rick Ragaller, 563rd Rescue Group/Operation Location-Alpha deputy group commander. "You can give her a task and know that she'll get it done." Colonel Ragaller first met Captain Moss at Nellis in 2004. Their paths crossed once again in Afghanistan, where he went to assess Afghan air corps. He said he was happy to know she was there. Colonel Ragaller said Captain Moss picks up foreign languages easily and was able to converse with Afghan people in their own tongue as well as Russian, which some Afghans speak. She also picked up a lot of Army acronyms, and would often start using them in conversation with her Air Force colleagues and get them completely confused. "Don't be afraid to get out of your comfort zone and master something new," said Captain Moss, who managed to excel in her position as a security assistant officer after only four weeks of training. Captain Moss has served in the Air Force for 13 years. Her previous assignments include Pope AFB, N.C., Dover AFB, Del., and Ramstein Air Base, Germany. She said she joined the military to be able to travel and do new things and she got what she wanted. Captain Moss said she plans to stay in until retirement.
