Iraq surrenders to the US-led coalition. In the 42-day, round-the-clock war, the Air Force flew 57 percent of all sorties with less than 58 percent of the assets, flew more than 38,000 combat sorties, offloaded more than 800 million pounds of fuel, and transported 96,465 passengers and 333 million pounds of cargo.
The Air Force is requesting about $141 million for initial enlistment bonuses in its fiscal 2026 budget, while Space Force wants $13 million.