Airmen from Ramstein AB, Germany deployed with a Botswana C-130 aircrew to the Darfur region in support of an African Union peacekeeping effort. US airmen from the 86th Operations Support Squadron, 86th Air Mobility Squadron, and 786th Security Forces Squadron flew aboard a Botswana C-130 that transported 56 Ugandan civil police out of Darfur, following a one-year deployment to the area. It was a win-win type operation. “Even though we are located thousands of miles from each other, we have common experiences and are able to build on those by sharing techniques and ideas,” said Maj. Jim Wandmacher, a C-130 navigator. The mission also marked the first time Botswana provided airlift to the troubled Darfur region.
Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen. Charles Q. Brown Jr. still “believes” in his mantra of “Accelerate Change or Lose”—and indicated the doctrinal changes it produced when he was Air Force Chief of Staff played a role in the service’s recent response to Iran’s aerial assault on Israel, he…