Maj. Gen. William Holland, deputy combined force air component commander for US Central Command, says airmen at Manas AB, Kyrgyzstan, have made a bare facility something “absolutely phenomenal.” Holland has reason to know since he lead the 2001 team searching for bases before the US launched Operation Enduring Freedom in Afghanistan. Holland told the Ganci Gazette, “That’s the beauty of our Air Force,” explaining that airmen even in a deployed environment “try to make it a little bit better.”
The U.S. began extensive air and artillery strikes against Islamic State group targets in Syria on Dec. 19 in retaliation for the killing of three Americans on Dec. 13 by a gunman affiliated with ISIS, U.S. officials said.

