When Iraqis stepped up to their ballot boxes earlier this month and voted on a constitutional referendum, US airmen and marines helped to make the process run smoother. The effort involved transporting some 1,320 Iraqi poll workers from the Baghdad International Airport to polling stations across the country, and then back again. Elements of USAF’s 447th Expeditionary Logistics Readiness Squadron at Sather Air Base (the name for the USAF facility at the airport), along with the Marine Corps 2nd Expeditionary Force, helped coordinate the 10 flights needed over a period of two days. Two of the flights were aboard Iraqi Air Force C-130s—visibly exciting both the Iraqi aircrew and the pollsters, according to USAF Capt. Robert Frakas, 447th aerial port flight commander.
Celebrating 100 Years of Liquid-Fueled Rockets
March 11, 2026
March 16, 2026, marks 100 years since Dr. Robert H. Goddard launched the world’s first liquid-fueled rocket. Over the past century, new and ever more capable liquid-fueled rockets have literally propelled humanity into space. Why liquid-fueled rockets?