The two C-17s from Hickam AFB, Hawaii, flown by active and Air National Guard airmen, that evacuated 188 people from tiny Wake island left their engines running as the evacuees—active duty airmen and DOD and Thai contractors—filed on board, leaving within 60 minutes of the aircraft touching down and just in front of Category 5 Super Typhoon Ioke. The storm hit Wake dead on with 186 mph winds.
The U.S., South Korea, and Japan flew an unusual trilateral flight with two U.S. B-52H Stratofortress bombers escorted by two Japan Air Self-Defense Force F-2s, and two ROK Air Force KF-16 fighters—both countries’ respective variants of the F-16—July 11. That same weekend, the top military officers of the three nations…