An Air Force Special Operations Command MC-130 on a humanitarian flight in Mali last week was struck by small arms fire, causing minor damage to its fuselage, reports Stars and Stripes. The MC-130 from the 352nd Special Operations Group at RAF Mildenhall, Britain, was on its second run to a military garrison that had been under siege from an armed force, possibly Taureg rebels. The AFSOC aircraft and aircrew were in Mali to participate in a bilateral exercise called Flintlock 2007, when the Mali government asked for assistance to resupply its garrison.
Trainees in Basic Military Training and technical school no longer have the option to try alternate PT drills if they fail an initial assessment, according to a policy change the Air Force made in April. The move is part of a larger shift out of the classroom and into hands-on,…