President Obama on Monday presented the Medal of Honor to a Navy SEAL who rescued an American held hostage in Afghanistan. Navy Senior Chief Warfare Operator Edward Byers, who guarded the captive doctor’s body with his own during the December 2012 operation, became the sixth SEAL to receive the award during the White House ceremony. “Whenever Americans are taken hostage in the world, we move heaven and earth to bring them home safe,” Obama said during the ceremony. “We send some thunder and some lightning—our special operator forces, folks like Ed Byers. They’re carefully selected for their character, their integrity, and their judgment. They are highly trained, with skills honed by years of experience, and they willingly volunteer for missions of extraordinary risk, like this one.” Most of the details surrounding the mission are still secret. Byers was part of a team that rescued Dr. Dilip Joseph, the director of a faith-based nonprofit, who was being held by the Taliban. One SEAL, Petty Officer 1st Class Nicolas Checque, was killed in the operation. (Watch the ceremony.)
The KC-Z4, a blended wing body tanker concept being developed by startup JetZero, could fuel larger groups of aircraft at longer range to hold more targets at risk, company officials say.