A 53-person team of airmen, DOD employees, and contractors landed on Wake Island on Sept. 13 to begin an intensive assessment of the damage caused by Super Typhoon Ioke, which struck the island Aug. 31. The group, which arrived on a C-17 from Hickam AFB, Hawaii, comprises civil engineers and communications experts, who will put a price tag on the damage and report back to Gen. Paul V. Hester, commander of Pacific Air Forces. A team from the 36th Contingency Response Group at Andersen AFB, Guam, came earlier to the island by ship to ensure the airfield was still intact and repair a generator for the follow-on team. The 36th CRG airmen flew home on the C-17 that brought the larger group.
Multiple U.S. Air Force F-15 fighters have deployed to the strategic outpost of Diego Garcia in the Indian Ocean to protect the myriad of assets deployed there, including strategic bombers.