US Air Forces Central announced that an F-16 fighter deployed to Joint Base Balad, Iraq, caught fire Nov. 12 after its pilot aborted a takeoff around 5:40 a.m. local time. The pilot managed to get out of the aircraft on the ground, with no apparent injury, but the aircraft was destroyed in the fire. The Air Force planned to convene an accident investigation board.
The total number of reported sexual assaults in the Department of the Air Force ticked up about two percent in 2024 while still trailing the total from 2022, as Pentagon officials say a hiring freeze on federal government civilian employees limits their ability to fill critical sexual assault prevention and…