The Air Force has evacuated nearly 2,000 
residents of the Gulf Coast as of Sept. 24, according to Air Mobility Command. In a 24-hour period, 827 airmen—of which 805 were Air National Guard and Air Force Reserve Command members—worked to aeromedevac an estimated 1,240 vulnerable citizens in the path of Hurricane Rita. USAF C-130s evacuated critically ill children and their intensive care nurses from Houston Children’s Medical Center to the Arkansas Children’s Medical Center. An ANG unit flew 60 patients back to their homes in Key West, Fla. In all, the Air Force flew a total of 61 medevac sorties on Sept. 23 and 74 missions overall in response to Hurricane Rita. USAF used C-5, C-9, C-17, C-130, and C-141 aircraft from units in Arkansas, Ohio, Oklahoma, Washington, and Texas.
The Space Force should take bold, decisive steps—and soon—to develop the capabilities and architecture needed to support more flexible, dynamic operations in orbit and counter Chinese aggression and technological progress, according to a new report from AFA’s Mitchell Institute for Aerospace Studies.
