To prepare for the arrival of Hurricane Rita, the Air Force is moving aircraft out of the projected path of the storm and moving personnel into readiness positions to respond after landfall, service officials said. Sixteen F-16s and one C-26 from Ellington Field in Houston were evacuated, and two C-5 Galaxy aircraft with the 433rd Airlift Wing, Lackland AFB, Tex., are set to assist with evacuation efforts in the vicinity of Houston and Beaumont. The 433rd AW also dispatched an aeromedical evacuation command and control team to Beaumont to standby for medical evacuation operations. USAF also has five C-17s, six C-130s, three C-5s, and two Contingency Response Groups standing by on three-hour alert.
Gene Smith, Former POW and AFA Chair, Dies at 91
Jan. 19, 2026
Lt. Col. Richard “Gene” Smith, who overcame five and a half years as a prisoner of war in the notorious Hanoi Hilton from 1967 until 1973, died Jan. 16. He was one day short of his 91st birthday.
