Airmen at Hickam AFB, Hawaii are using a new kind of simulator designed to prepare them for emergency egress situations—when they must eject from their aircraft and use their parachute to land. Called Parasim, the simulator uses new computer programs and virtual reality goggles to allow trainees to practice jumps and perfect parachute procedures. First Lt. John Brantuck II, a pilot with the 535th Airlift Squadron, said: “It gets your mind oriented on the checklist you need to do. When you are in that kind of situation you are not going to be naturally inclined to do the right thing.”
U.S. Southern Command recently announced its first lethal strike on a suspected narco-trafficking vessel in two months, and the first under a newly formed permanent counter-cartel task force. The U.S. is also reportedly planning to transfer MQ-9 drones to Colombia to bolster its counter-cartel efforts.