The Air Force has sent numerous satellite communications systems, known as the very small aperture terminal, to Southwest Asia for use by explosive ordnance disposal technicians. The portable VSAT enables the EOD airmen to make calls and send and receive information even in austere conditions, reports SrA. Clark Staehle. It can be set up in about 15 minutes, providing the EOD techs the ability to quickly relay information about the most recent threats they have encountered.
Gene Smith, Former POW and AFA Chair, Dies at 91
Jan. 19, 2026
Lt. Col. Richard “Gene” Smith, who overcame five and a half years as a prisoner of war in the notorious Hanoi Hilton from 1967 until 1973, died Jan. 16. He was one day short of his 91st birthday.
