A once retired B-52H Stratofortress known as Ghost Rider, tail number 61-007, returned to Minot AFB, N.D., Tuesday after more than seven years at the 309th Aerospace Maintenance and Regeneration Group at Davis-Monthan AFB, Ariz. The aircraft has been undergoing rehab work to make it the first B52-H regenerated back into the fleet. The process began when a cockpit fire damaged an operational Stratofortress in 2014. Ghost Rider was previously stationed at Minot in the 1990s, and its primary crew chief from that time, Robert Crane, 5th Logistics Readiness Squadron vehicle management flight chief, was on hand for its return. (See also Ghost Rider Resurrected and Boneyard BUFF Heads Back to Service.)
The Air Force displayed all the firepower it has amassed on Okinawa in an unusually diverse show of force this week. IIn a May 6 “Elephant Walk,” Kadena Air Base showcased 24 F-35A Lightning II stealth fighters, eight F-15E Strike Eagles; two U.S. Army Patriot anti-missile batteries near the runway; and…