There is a unit at Ali Base, Iraq, the 777th Expeditionary Airlift Squadron Ammo Flight, that has six airmen who handle all the countermeasure requirements for C-130s of both the US and Iraqi Air Forces. They maintain a munitions stockpile of 661 items, valued at $1.8 million, and each type of ammo has a different service life—inspection and reclassification is a neverending cycle, reports the Ali Times. And, then there’s the everyday task of replenishing the chaff and flares used by the airlifters.
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth's recent direction that the military services return to a more old-school approach to basic training—with instructors "tossing bunks" and "putting their hands on recruits”—will likely require the Air Force to rewrite policies for military training instructors it has modified over time to cut down on such…
