There is only one Air Force aeromedical evacuation unit in Afghanistan, and it has flown more than 508 patients since May, reports SSgt. Joshua Jasper. The 455th Expeditionary Aeromedical Evacuation Flight, comprising 17 Air National Guard and nine active duty airmen transport patients from forward operating bases in Afghanistan to Bagram Air Base and on to Germany, if needed. Their transports are C-130s, which they load with about 800 pounds of medical gear twice a day to make pick-ups at FOBs.
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.
