Since there was minor damage when a C-17 airlifter collided with a KC-135 during an aerial refueling on Dec. 22, Air Force officials at Hickam AFB, Hawaii, say the service will not release the accident investigation report. The pilot of the borrowed C-17 was Col. William Changose, base commander at Hickam. He voluntarily stopped flying during the investigation, but he has now returned to the cockpit. According to the Honolulu Star-Bulletin, the Air Force did not discipline crewmembers in either the C-17 or the KC-135. Hickam received the first of eight C-17s to be based in Hawaii last week.
Air Force Gen. Alexus G. Grynkewich assumed command of U.S. European Command on July 1, taking over the key assignment as the U.S. and its allies contend with a resurgent Russia and a grinding war in Ukraine.