The Air Force sent a team from Charleston AFB, S.C., to Davis-Monthan AFB, Ariz., to train a select group of airmen how to load C-17 airlifters so they can serve as loadmaster augmentees should the service need them. According to a report by 2nd Lt. Kerry Fields at Charleston, the Davis-Monthan airmen come from a variety of career fields. USAF believes this training will add to its capabilities for the war on terror by producing airmen who can aid a fully trained loadmaster in the not-easy tasks required for loading and unloading various cargo.
In a nighttime ceremony contrived to continue concealment of many of its features, the new B-21 bomber rolled out of Northrop Grumman's Palmdale, Calif. plant Dec. 2. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin said the aircraft's advanced technology represents "deterrence, the American way."