The aerial port airman at RAF Mildenhall, England, have somewhat of a dilemma: They work with a wide variety of aircraft that transit the base, but they have little chance to maintain their training with these aircraft. Consequently, they “mob” the transit aircraft or have to deploy to other bases to bone up on particular types, reports Air Force journalist Louis Arana-Barradas. The 727th Air Mobility Squadron, comprising some 150 US Air Force blue-suiters and 80 British civilians—who provide continuity—is a slave to world events, such as a short-notice Presidential stop or the hurry up effort to help deploy the base’s special operations airmen to aid Americans evacuating Lebanon, according to squadron ops chief Lt. Col. Tim Taylor. He says, “Our work is cyclical, it comes in waves.”
Celebrating 100 Years of Liquid-Fueled Rockets
March 11, 2026
March 16, 2026, marks 100 years since Dr. Robert H. Goddard launched the world’s first liquid-fueled rocket. Over the past century, new and ever more capable liquid-fueled rockets have literally propelled humanity into space. Why liquid-fueled rockets?