The Story:
Lt. Lomax was serving as an antiterrorism/force protection officer at the U.S. embassy in Baghdad on the eve of the Iraqi national elections. On January 29, 2005, insurgents fired a missile at the embassy, hitting Lomax’s office. The room began filling with smoke and debris, some of which hit Lomax’s forehead. Lomax instantly got to work, assessing the damage and pulling injured people out from under the rubble. After clearing the room, Lomax accounted for everyone and helped secure the building. During his six-month deployment, Lomax handled $5.2 million worth of security projects and oversaw a multi-million dollar contract which provided personal security detail movements, site security, and intelligence dissemination throughout Iraq. For his work in Iraq, Lomax was awarded the Bronze Star Medal.