Those former CIA employees of the iconic “Air America” clandestine flight service who were not already military veterans have been trying to get the Air Force to recognize their efforts in Southeast Asia as active duty service—making them eligible for veterans benefits, according to National Journal. An Air Force review board turned them down once for lack of evidence they actually supported military missions, but it is now reconsidering based on newly revealed documentation. The effort parallels one by Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) and Rep. Shelley Berkeley (D-Nev.) to give the AA crowd civil service benefits.
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.