The Air Force on March 21 flew its first non-stop aeromedical evacuation flight from Afghanistan to Germany, making it in just 10 hours compared to the three to five days such flights previously would consume by stopping over in Kuwait first. Journalist SSgt. Carlos Diaz reports that scheduling the medevac missions is the job of the patient administration division at the new theater hospital at Bagram AB, Afghanistan. Despite its expanded capability, the new facility must send some patients to larger hospitals, such as at Landstuhl, Germany.
Less than a day after arriving in the Middle East, F-15E Strike Eagles from Seymour Johnson Air Force Base, N.C. defended Israel from an Iranian attack in April 2024. DUDE flight, four F-15Es from the 335th Fighter Squadron, downed two dozen Iranian drones in roughly 45 minutes.