At an unnamed forward location, airmen from several different specialties come together to ensure the arrival of new airmen goes smoothly, handling everything from prepositioned C bags and chemical warfare gear to beds and airlift passenger processing. During an Air and Space Expeditionary Force rotation, services airmen bedded down more than 1,400 over a five-day period when they normally would accommodate about 300, reports SrA. Clark Staehle. Over the same five days, air mobility airmen processed more than 5,000 passengers, compared to a typical 2,200.
The U.S. military is maintaining a beefed-up presence in the Middle East, including fighters and air defense assets, following the U.S. strikes on Iranian nuclear facilities June 22 and subsequent retaliation by the Iranians against Al Udeid Air Base in Qatar.
