377th WSSS commander awarded French defense medal Published Oct. 26, 2012 BAGRAM, AFGHANISTAN -- The commander of the 377th Weapons System Security Squadron at Kirtland Air Force Base recently received the French National Defense Medal (Bronze) for his actions while deployed to Regional Support Command-East, at Bagram, Afghanistan. Lt. Col. Bryan Eckart was deployed there from Jan. 19 through Aug. 2. The medal is awarded on three different levels -- bronze, silver and gold. Normally, silver and gold awards are presented to French citizens who have served in the French military for several years, while bronze recipients must serve France for several months. It can be awarded to both military members and civilians who have served honorably for their participation in French operations. Eckart, who has served more than 25 years in the Air Force, said that this award was different from previous medals because it represented a lot of hard work and sleepless nights in securing Afghanistan's largest police training site. As the RSC-E police team lead, Eckart programmed and executed numerous force protection projects to secure Afghanistan's vital training center. He worked "shohna be shohna" (Dari for "shoulder to shoulder") with French and Afghan leadership to ensure a safe environment for Afghan police recruits. Before the first cadet training class, insurgents conducted more than 90 attacks on the training site.