More than 300 Active Duty and Reserve airmen—“the final, largest wave of personnel”— returned to Whiteman AFB, Mo., after a seven-month deployment to Bagram, Afghanistan, this week, according to a release. The group accumulated over 9,600 flying hours during 2,500 missions, which “supported more than 400 requests for assistance from troops in combat, expending more than 50,000 rounds and 57,000 pounds of munitions spent,” states the Oct. 27 release. “They did a great job and they’re the reason we flew successfully,” said Lt. Col. Bryan Stone, deployed commander of the 442nd Fighter Wing’s A-10 squadron. “It’s been a long seven months. I’m proud to bring them home.”
The Air Force will promote 11.07 percent of eligible master sergeants to senior master sergeant this year, a decline from last cycle that snaps a four-year streak of increases. Out of a pool of 13,315 eligible individuals, 1,474 new E-8s were selected.