Air
Force F-16 mechanics deployed to Southwest Asia still must perform phase inspections for their Vipers—a four to five day process every 400 flight hours. And, the rate of sorties flown means the inspection time rolls around just that much faster—about every 120 days compared to once a year in the states, reports SrA. Candace Romano. “We literally de-panel and inspect the entire jet,” fixing anything that needs repair or maintenance, says TSgt. Ethan Thomas, a phase dock chief deployed to Balad AB, Iraq, from Misawa AB, Japan.
U.S. Southern Command recently announced its first lethal strike on a suspected narco-trafficking vessel in two months, and the first under a newly formed permanent counter-cartel task force. The U.S. is also reportedly planning to transfer MQ-9 drones to Colombia to bolster its counter-cartel efforts.