Rep. Jim Saxton (R-N.J.) extolled the arrival of the New Jersey Air National Guard’s first R model KC-135 tankers, saying the aircraft would “ensure the survival of the 108th Air Refueling Wing. The wing is giving up its older KC-135E models for the newer R models, which have new engines that make them 90 percent quieter than the older model tankers. Saxton was instrumental in getting the 108th ARW, based at McGuire AFB, N.J., off the hit list during BRAC 2005.
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.