According to the man in charge of USAF rescue forces during Hurricane Katrina last year, his force eventually had 23 HH-60G Pave Hawks, five HC-130Ps, and three C-130Es, which he says “was a bit more than I expected.” Col. Joseph Callahan, commander of the 347th Rescue Wing at Moody AFB, Ga., calls the operation a first, saying, “Never before had we placed so many assets together to execute a rescue mission.” The cobbled together force, from units around the country, ultimately rescued more than 4,300 people. Callahan credits past operations and exercises at which many of the rescue personnel had met for enabling the disparate units to function as “a single team.”
The Air Force is placing Air Combat Command in charge of teaching combat tactics to fighter and remotely-piloted aircraft units, according to a May 12 announcement. Beginning this summer, the service will reassign the formal training units for the F-35, F-16, and MQ-9 from Air Education and Training Command to…