MSgt. Joseph Maxey has achieved a feat few loadmasters manage during their Air Force careers—reaching 10,000 flying hours. The 25-year veteran, currently assigned to Charleston AFB, S.C., hit the magic number flying a C-17 airlift mission over Afghanistan on April 3, reports SrA. Erik Hofmeyer. Maxey, who was born in England and became a naturalized US citizen at age five, entered the Air Force in 1982, first serving as a loadmaster on C-141s.
The U.S. military is maintaining a beefed-up presence in the Middle East, including fighters and air defense assets, following the U.S. strikes on Iranian nuclear facilities June 22 and subsequent retaliation by the Iranians against Al Udeid Air Base in Qatar.