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ir Force Space Command airmen are competing in the 2006 Guardian Challenge, the first in two years since AFSPC canceled the comp last year. Various elements are competing on different dates. For instance, missileers at Minot AFB, N.D., began competition events with a kickoff rally in late April, while helicopter crews from F.E. Warren AFB, Wyo., Malmstrom AFB, Mont., Minot AFB, N.D., and Vandenberg AFB, Calif., competed last week at Camp Guernsey, Wyo. Posting for all competitors is slated for Peterson AFB, Colo., in mid-August.
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.