An Air Force civil engineer rescue air mobility squad (RAMS) at Ali Base, Iraq, had trained twice to work with the Army UH-60 Black Hawk aeromedical evacuation unit when they got a real-world call: Two trucks had collided head-on and one driver was trapped. The RAMS team picked up their 200 pounds of extrication gear and their “battle rattle”—weapons and ammunition—and headed for a Black Hawk. It took all their tools and nearly two hours to free the driver, then the Army took over to treat and transport. The Air Force RAMS—14 airmen—at Ali Base cover all of southern Iraq.
The Space Force should take bold, decisive steps—and soon—to develop the capabilities and architecture needed to support more flexible, dynamic operations in orbit and counter Chinese aggression and technological progress, according to a new report from AFA’s Mitchell Institute for Aerospace Studies.
