Seventeen C-17s from the 437th Airlift Wing at Charleston AFB, S.C., took off and flew over South Carolina’s Cooper River Tuesday—entering into formation and breaking a record. The C-17s conducted low-level training in the Charleston area, before performing an airdrop at North Auxiliary Air Field, S.C. The 437th AW flew 16 of the new airlifters in formation across country to Texas, when the unit participated in a composite force exercise in May 2005.
Gene Smith, Former POW and AFA Chair, Dies at 91
Jan. 19, 2026
Lt. Col. Richard “Gene” Smith, who overcame five and a half years as a prisoner of war in the notorious Hanoi Hilton from 1967 until 1973, died Jan. 16. He was one day short of his 91st birthday.
