Air Force and Army engineers have shepherded a new runway project for Bagram Airfield in Afghanistan for about two years, formally opening the $68 million project Dec. 20. The old Russian-built runway required daily repair and simply was not up to the high volume of traffic seen at this central Afghan hub. Coalition and Afghan officials opened the new runway, built by an Egyptian company using workers from Egypt and Afghanistan. It’s longer and thicker to accommodate even the behemoth C-5 airlifter and jumbo jets.
Airmen basic rarely go on to become four-star generals, but one who did retired last week after a 42 year career that saw him rise from a lowly slick-sleeve to the head of one of the Air Force’s most important major commands.