Airmen from the New York Air National Guard’s 105th Airlift Wing, with a little help from a West Virginia Air Guardsman, flew a C-5 to Soto Cano AB, Honduras, where they loaded a team of 19 airmen and soldiers and two helicopters for transport to the Dominican Republic. The Joint Task Force Bravo team from Soto Cano is helping primarily with search and recovery efforts following tropical storm Noel. The C-5 aircrew diverted from its initial mission which had taken the Air Guardsmen to Spain to support operations in Southwest Asia, reports 1st Lt. Erika Yepsen. West Virginia’s 167th Airlift Wing flew its first operational C-5 mission earlier this year.
Navy Adm. Samuel J. Paparo Jr. assumed leadership of the U.S. Indo-Pacific Command, succeeding Navy Adm. John Aquilino at a change of command ceremony, urging action amid China's “increasing intrusive and expansionist claims,” on May 3