Within 48 hours after the devastating 7.7-magnitude earthquake that left thousands dead across Pakistan, India, and parts of Afghanistan, a C-17 crew from the 7th Airlift Squadron, McChord AFB, Wash., picked up 12 pallets of food, water, medicine. and blankets at Bagram AB, Afghanistan, and delivered the supplies to Islamabad, Pakistan. Bagram’s 455th Logistics Readiness Squadron organized airmen and soldiers to gather the supplies and sent two aerial port specialists with the C-17 to help manage the offload in Pakistan. US Central Command also dispatched eight Army helicopters to aid earthquake relief efforts.
The Air Force wants to pump more than $12 billion over the next five years into its new affordable long-range missiles program and recently asked industry to push the flights of some of those munitions beyond 1,200 miles.