The eight UH-1 helicopters and 83 pilots, maintainers, and support personnel dispatched from Air Force Space Command units to Columbus AFB, Miss., over a two-day period flew 41 search-and-rescue sorties and delivered almost 23,000 pounds of supplies along the Gulf Coast. It was “the single largest deployment of AFSPC helicopters anywhere, ever,” said Maj. Gen. Frank G. Klotz, 20th Air Force commander. The Huey’s usual job is to provide security for the nation’s ICBM force.
Air Force Gen. Alexus G. Grynkewich assumed command of U.S. European Command on July 1, taking over the key assignment as the U.S. and its allies contend with a resurgent Russia and a grinding war in Ukraine.