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.
KC-46’s Refueling Boom Damaged While Refueling F-22s
July 8, 2025
A U.S. Air Force KC-46 tanker suffered damage to its boom while refueling F-22 Raptors off the coast of Virginia on July 8, Air & Space Forces Magazine has confirmed, with reported radio communication from the crew indicating the boom “detached.”