“The greatest disaster recovery effort in American history” is under way right now, according to Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld. He and USAF Gen. Richard Myers, JCS Chairman, Tuesday afternoon told reporters at the Pentagon that more than 41,000 of the 58,000 troops on the ground in the region are Army and Air National Guard forces from around the country. The forces include more than 350 helicopters and 75 fixed wing aircraft—flying some 1,800 missions. Military troops have rescued more than 13,000 people and flown in thousands of tons of relief supplies.
As the Air Force readied for its June 21-22 strikes on Iran’s nuclear facilities, the service was also putting its Agile Combat Employment strategy into action, dispersing combat aircraft and Airmen from Al Udeid Air Base in Qatar in preparation for a possible Iranian retaliatory attack. Some defense experts say…
