The airmen who operate and maintain US Air Forces in Europe’s C-20 distinguished visitor aircraft are not immune to deployments to combat operations areas. The Kaiserslautern American reports that a C-20H team from the 76th Airlift Squadron at Ramstein AB, Germany, recently deployed to fly DVs in and around Afghanistan and Iraq. They flew 162 sorties within a three-month period. They got high praise from Lt. Gen. Gary North, US Central Command Air Forces commander, who said, “The 76th AS team has been the most professional airlift support crew we’ve had.”
Less than a day after arriving in the Middle East, F-15E Strike Eagles from Seymour Johnson Air Force Base, N.C. defended Israel from an Iranian attack in April 2024. DUDE flight, four F-15Es from the 335th Fighter Squadron, downed two dozen Iranian drones in roughly 45 minutes.