The Air Force co-opted one of its newest airlifters to cut down a growing backlog of supplies needed urgently for coalition forces fighting the Taliban near the Pakistan-Afghanistan border. Air Force journalist Maj. Ann Peru Knabe reports that USAF C-130s normally make Operation Mountain Fury deliveries, but the need for multiple, large drops made the C-17 “perfect.” Loading up at Bagram AB, Afghanistan, a C-17 aircrew rigged recycled milk crates to cushion a load of more than 50,000 pounds, comprising 40 bundles of bullets, explosives, and rockets.
Army Gen. Christopher G. Cavoli, head of U.S. European Command and Supreme Allied Commander Europe, warned that Russia would remain an enduring threat to NATO and global security, regardless of the outcome of the war in Ukraine.