A C-17 transporting 32 airmen, marines, and soldiers from Balad AB, Iraq, to Landstuhl Medical Center in Germany recently had to divert to RAF Mildenhall, Britain, when bad weather closed down Ramstein and Spangdahlem Air Bases. Mildenhall got 30 minutes notice. Quickly recalled off-duty medical personnel, set up a makeshift mass casualty center, and opened triage at the airfield. The drama only lasted a few hours, but the critical care patients among the troops needed constant attention.
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.
