DOD officials said that the remains of a US serviceman discovered on one of 11 excursions on the Laos-Vietnam border made between 1994 and 2004 were identified as those of Air Force TSgt. Patrick L. Shannon of Owasso, Okla. Shannon was a member of a radar installation atop Pha Thi Mountain in Laos that was attacked by North Vietnamese commandos in March 1968. Eleven of the 19 servicemen at the site were killed.
When acting Air Force Secretary Gary A. Ashworth rescinded service-wide “Family Days” last week citing the need to build readiness, he left it up to commanders, directors, and supervisors to decide if they would still permit extra days off. Here’s how Air Force major commands are taking that guidance.