A C-17 flown by airmen deployed to the 816th Expeditionary Airlift Squadron in Southwest Asia airdropped about 80,000 pounds of supplies Jan. 14 to help support forward-deployed forces and Afghan residents in the snow-covered mountains. The airlifter crew used the Joint Precision Airdrop Delivery System to get the supplies within a few feet of the target zone. Air Force officials say the accuracy of the JPADS is now within 10 meters.
Gene Smith, Former POW and AFA Chair, Dies at 91
Jan. 19, 2026
Lt. Col. Richard “Gene” Smith, who overcame five and a half years as a prisoner of war in the notorious Hanoi Hilton from 1967 until 1973, died Jan. 16. He was one day short of his 91st birthday.
