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n Alaskan Air National Guard C-130 aircrew just kept flying and trying their radio to reach ground forces, determined not to leave before airdropping a load of ammunition to US Army soldiers in Afghanistan. A change in frequency got them through, but they could tell the problem was the soldiers had been and were engaged in a firefight. Flying back to the drop zone and dodging thunderstorms “tossed” the loadmasters in the rear trying to get the pallets ready, and, once there, the aircrew had to coordinate via the Army’s drop zone controller to ensure a USAF A-10 providing close air support in the vicinity of the drop zone was clear. The C-130 crew dropped six bundles of ammo just in time. (Read more here.)
U.S. Southern Command recently announced its first lethal strike on a suspected narco-trafficking vessel in two months, and the first under a newly formed permanent counter-cartel task force. The U.S. is also reportedly planning to transfer MQ-9 drones to Colombia to bolster its counter-cartel efforts.