US Central Command Air Forces reports that a US Air Force F-16CG crashed about 20 miles northwest of Baghdad this morning. The fighter was supporting ground forces at the time. There is as yet no official word on the cause of the crash. Reuters news service reports that local residents say US forces immediately surrounded the crash site.
The Air Force will promote 11.07 percent of eligible master sergeants to senior master sergeant this year, a decline from last cycle that snaps a four-year streak of increases. Out of a pool of 13,315 eligible individuals, 1,474 new E-8s were selected.