Gen. Tom Hobbins, US Air Forces in Europe commander, recently traveled to Afghanistan, Kyrgyzstan, and Qatar to visit with airmen deployed from Ramstein AB, Germany. He said it was a “promise” he made. Hobbins also took time to pursue some NATO business, particularly to evaluate the airlift and refueling operations at Manas and the command and control organization in Kabul that supports NATO’s International Security Assistance Force.
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.