Army Ground Liaison Officer Capt. Phil Messer and friends have high praise for USAF’s 379th Air Expeditionary Wing and the support it provides ground forces in Iraq. Messer shared an e-mail he got from a soldier, who wrote: “We were a long, long way from reinforcements; and it’s been comforting to know that we could get on the radio and have jets screaming overhead in minutes.” Messer also told Air Force journalist TSgt. Veronica Aceveda that the 379th provides “a real confidence boost.”
Navy Adm. Samuel J. Paparo Jr. assumed leadership of the U.S. Indo-Pacific Command, succeeding Navy Adm. John Aquilino at a change of command ceremony, urging action amid China's “increasing intrusive and expansionist claims,” on May 3