Here is a first-person article by The (Olympia, Wash.) Olympian reporter Scott Gutierrez, who flew with aircrews from McChord AFB, Wash., on a trip to Southwest Asia. Gutierrez got to spend a week with the McChord aircrews as they flew cargo into and around the theater, stopping at Balad AB, Iraq, where he visited the combat hospital and spoke with US troops—more upbeat than not—and Iraqis working with the coalition.
It is critical that the Air Force move forward on the replacement for its E-4B “Doomsday” aircraft to keep the capability “viable” into the next decade and beyond, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen. Charles Q. Brown Jr. told lawmakers May 8.