The 15th Airlift Wing, Hickham AFB, Hawaii, took delivery on July 18 of its eighth and final C-17 advanced airlifter, completing a remarkable transformation of the unit. The new C-17 was named “Spirit of Kamehameha-Imua,” after one of Hawaii’s most revered historical figures. The wing had been a support unit until early this year, when it began to receive the alirfters. It is not a fully operational airlift unit. The aircraft are expected to play a major role in force mobility throughout the Pacific.
In the small world of Air Force weather specialists, combat weather specialists are a niche unto themselves, deploying with Army ground units to provide forecasts and, if need be, fight alongside those Soldiers. For Staff Sgt. Francisco Estrada, the hardest part of the job isn’t the possibility of ground combat,…
