Silver Star Medals wait to be pinned on the chest of Sgt. 1st Class Chad E. Lawson, communications sergeant, Operational Detachment Alpha 3116, 1st Battalion, 3rd Special Forces Group (Airborne), Fort Bragg, N.C., deployed as a member of Special Operations Task Force – South during a ceremony Feb. 14 at Kandahar Airfield, Afghanistan. Lawson of Cincinnati was awarded the medal by Gen. David H. Petraeus, commander, International Security Assistance Force and commander, U.S. Forces Afghanistan, for his valorous acts performed Aug. 4, 2010, during combat operations in Kandahar.