The airmen with the 64th Expeditionary Helicopter Maintenance Unit at Balad AB, Iraq, are key to keeping the fleet of Air Force Special Operations Command HH-60G Pave Low helicopters fit for their Combat Search and Rescue mission. The unit has some 30 airmen who are constantly maintaining and repairing the well-worn birds. Despite the high mission tempo, Air Force officials say, launching on time hasn’t been a problem so far. “Every bird has made its mission,” said TSgt. Kevin Pizzino, the unit expediter.
In the face of Chinese war plans to disrupt U.S. command-and-control networks in the event of a conflict, the Air Force needs to focus less on its “connect everything” efforts and prepare its combat aviators to fight without a constant connection to higher-ups, according to a new report from AFA’s…
