Airmen serving as “in lieu of” convoy drivers drove a total of more than six million miles in Southwest Asia last year, according to Air Force data. These airmen working in traditional Army jobs handled 393 convoys, during which they came under attack 138 times from small arms fire, rocket propelled grenades, and improvised explosive devices. (They also drove another 495 convoys within Kuwait.) And, if the Air Force’s senior personnel official, Lt. Gen. Roger Brady, is correct, more airmen would be diverted to ILO duty during President Bush’s plan to increase the number of soldiers and marines in Iraq.
The U.S. thwarted a drone attack on U.S. forces at Al Asad air base in western Iraq on April 22, marking the first time that American troops have been targeted since February, U.S. officials said. “We can confirm it was an attack on Al Asad,” a defense official told Air & Space…