Cargo movers with the 437th Aerial Port Squadron, Charleston AFB, S.C., the hub for delivering shipments of equipment to Southwest Asia, are streamlining the handling and delivery of those shipments. According to a Charleston news release, the 450 military and civilian squadron members cut needless steps by working “closely” with the Tanker Airlift Control Center at Scott AFB, Ill., to manage the cargo flow. Squadron members process as much as 200 tons of supplies each day. Delays in processing weapons arriving into Charleston, for example, evaporated when the initial checker gained approval authority for weapons to be airlifted. Since 95 percent of all weapons don’t require additional clearance, this new step expedited delivery of weapons to the warfighter. Said SSgt. Justin Halterman, “The process itself is now flowing 50 percent quicker and 50 percent more efficiently.”
The use of a military counter-drone laser on the southwest border this week—which prompted the Federal Aviation Administration to abruptly close the airspace over El Paso, Texas—will be a “case study” on the complex web of authorities needed to employ such weapons near civilian areas and the consequences of agencies…
