USAF F-16s fired 500-pound Joint Direct Attack Munitions, successfully destroying a booby-trapped house in the vicinity of Al Mahmudiyah, Iraq, on Nov. 23. According to Central Command Air Forces, coalition forces discovered the house in a search of the area following an attack on Iraqi Army soldiers by insurgents on Nov. 21. As an explosive ordnance team checked the house, coalition forces cleared civilians from the surrounding area. F-16s aircrews deployed from Air Force Reserve Command’s 457th Fighter Squadron, NAS JRB Fort Worth, Tex., flew the strike mission.
Three of four congressional committees with influence over defense policy have voted to change the official name of the Department of Defense to the Department of War—but final approval of the Pentagon rebrand is months away and not yet assured.