The 8th Expeditionary Air Mobility Squadron, Al Udeid AB, Qatar, handles some 20 percent of all passengers and cargo transported by Air Mobility Command forces. By comparison, Rhein Main AB, Germany, handles about 13 percent. For the month of September alone, 8th EAMS will have airlifted an estimated 32,000 passengers and 20,000 tons of cargo. “We are known as the Ramstein of the AOR,” said Lt. Col. Doug Engelke, the unit’s commander.
Numbers Game Squeezes USAF Fighter Force
Dec. 15, 2025
Congress set the legal floor for how many primary mission aircraft the Air Force had to have in its fighter force in 2018, requiring at least 1,145 fighters through Oct. 1, 2026. In each of the past past two legislative cycles, lawmakers agreed to reduce the number. But when the House passed…
