Approximately 33 US active duty military, reservists, and civilians have returned from African Lion 2006 in the Sahara desert, where they performed medical services and humanitarian visits for more than 9,400 Moroccans. “I left a piece of my heart in Morocco,” says Air Force Capt. Alvin Barber, adding, “The people were the most grateful I have ever seen.” Barber is a physician assistant with the 435th Medical Squadron, Ramstein AB, Germany. During African Lion, the US medics worked with the Moroccan military and saw an average of 1,300 patients per day.
The rate of building B-21 bombers would speed up if the fiscal 2026 defense budget passes. But it remains unclear how much capacity would be added, and whether the Air Force would simply build the bombers faster, or buy more.