The Icemen of the Eielson AFB, Alaska, and airmen and soldiers at Balad AB, Iraq, held memorials for MSgt. Brad A. Clemmons, who was killed Aug. 21 when his convoy vehicle struck an improvised explosive device on the way to Taji, Iraq. Clemmons, who was an explosive ordnance disposal craftsman from the 354th Civil Engineer Squadron at Eielson, had deployed to Balad, where he served as a weapons intelligence flight team leader. The Air Force posthumously awarded Clemmons a Bronze Star. (Read more here from Eielson and here from Balad.)
In the face of Chinese war plans to disrupt U.S. command-and-control networks in the event of a conflict, the Air Force needs to focus less on its “connect everything” efforts and prepare its combat aviators to fight without a constant connection to higher-ups, according to a new report from AFA’s…