At Balad AB, Iraq, the 46th Expeditionary Aircraft Maintenance Unit comprises airmen—active, Air National Guard, and British—and contractors—many of whom are former blue-suiters themselves. The contractors add a unique element, since some have worked with Predator unmanned aerial vehicles for almost 10 years. Orival Greenfield, a 46th EAMU deployment team lead and retired senior master sergeant, has seen the platform evolve from an experiment to a highly valued asset. Back when he started with the program in 1997, he told Air Force journalist A1C Jason Ridder, there would be only one aircraft in the sky at a time. “Now there are multiple Predators in the sky at the same time, and most of the missions are flown from Nellis,” he added.
The last remaining T-1 Jayhawk at JBSA-Randolph, Texas, took its final flight to the "Boneyard" at Davis-Monthan Air Force Base, Ariz., on July 15. The 99th Flying Training Squadron will train pilots using T-6 and simulator until it gets T-7 Red Hawk in fiscal 2026.