Gen. Tom Hobbins, US Air Forces in Europe commander, just visited Fighter Wing Skrydstrup, Denmark, to present 35 Danish F-16 pilots with US Air Medals for their year of support in Operation Enduring Freedom. The four-star general thanked the pilots—NATO allies—for their commitment. They’ve flown nearly 900 mission hours over Afghanistan during a 12-month deployment. The Danish fighter pilots were part of the 376th Air Expeditionary Operations Group, of Manas AB, Kyrgyzstan. To qualify for the medals, they had to fly a minimum of 15 hours in a hostile combat zone.
Earlier this spring, the 388th Fighter Wing proved just 12 Airmen can operate an F-35 contingency location, refueling and rearming the fighters at spots across Georgia and South Carolina. The demonstration, part of exercise Agile Flag 23-1, marks yet another proof of concept for the Air Force’s plan to send…