The Air Force airdropped 
a record 3.3 million pounds of supplies into Afghanistan in July, eclipsing June’s total of 3.2 million pounds as the highest monthly total since US military operations began in Afghanistan in late 2001. The 772nd Expeditionary Airlift Squadron, a C-130J unit operating from Kandahar Air Field, Afghanistan, delivered more than 276,000 pounds of that total to austere, otherwise hard-to-access locations throughout the country, delivering equipment, ammunition, fuel, food, and water to US and coalition troops. “We’re using airlift to overcome the challenges that the terrain presents,” said Capt. Tucker McEwen, a pilot with the squadron. Capt. Dan Rees, 772nd EAS aircraft commander, added: “People who have absolutely no way of getting a resupply of equipment or even food rely on us and these airdrops.” (Kandahar report by SSgt Stacia Zachary)
Air Force exercises in the Indo-Pacific may soon get even bigger and more robust, as lawmakers move to invest more than $620 million in such efforts. The bulk of that money, contained in a $150 billion reconciliation package currently making its way through Congress, is $532.6 million for earmarked for…