Several US Air Force personnel deployed to Manas AB, Kyrgyzstan, recently got to tour a Kyrgyz air base, Frunze AB No. 1, and see their operations up close and personal. Officials say the event marked a “milestone in US and Kyrgyz Air Force relations.” The US airmen returned the courtesy two days later. Col. Randy Kee, 376th Air Expeditionary Wing commander at Manas, said, “The groundwork laid in these exchange visits between our two militaries is helping to make long strides forward in better and closer cooperation. … We’re building long-lasting relationships.”
U.S. Southern Command recently announced its first lethal strike on a suspected narco-trafficking vessel in two months, and the first under a newly formed permanent counter-cartel task force. The U.S. is also reportedly planning to transfer MQ-9 drones to Colombia to bolster its counter-cartel efforts.