The Pentagon released the name of an airman killed in Iraq June 23 from the effects of an improvised explosive device. He was A1C Jason D. Nathan, 22, of Macon, Ga., deployed to Iraq from the 48th Security Forces Squadron, RAF Lakenheath, England. A Lakenheath news release notes that, at the time of his death, Nathan was serving as a gunner on a vehicle for a “very difficult Iraqi Police Transition Team mission.”
The new defense reconciliation bill includes $7.2 billion for Air Force and Navy aviation accounts, almost half of which will buy more F-15EXs. While electronic warfare, drones, connectivity and airlift all get attention, the F-35 was conspicuously absent from the package, with no explanation given.