The Wyoming Air National Guard says that its first-of-its-kind active associate unit is fully deployable “months ahead of schedule.” The active duty airmen of the 30th Airlift Squadron are stationed at Cheyenne, Wyo., where they are working with the Wyoming Air National Guard’s 153rd Airlift Wing, flying and maintaining C-130 tactical transports. The new arrangement is the flip side of a reserve associate unit, in which reservists share aircraft and work with an active unit.
A half-dozen pilots from one of the Air Force’s premier F-16 units, the 20th Fighter Wing at Shaw Air Force Base, S.C., have been awarded one of the service’s highest decorations for their role in Operation Midnight Hammer, the June 2025 strikes against Iranian nuclear facilities.