Daily Report

Jan. 5, 2010

Airman Killed in Afghanistan

The Pentagon announced late Monday that SrA. Bradley R. Smith, 24, of Troy, Ill., died Jan. 3 near Kandahar Airfield, Afghanistan, of wounds sustained while supporting combat operations. He was assigned to the 10th Air Support Operations Squadron, a USAF...

Let the Feedback Begin

The Air Force has announced that it will host a series of public meetings starting Jan. 11 to discuss the potential beddown of combat-ready F-35 strike fighter units at six candidate bases in the continental US. These meetings, which allow...

C-130J Makes Africa Debut

The 86th Airlift Wing at Ramstein AB, Germany, in mid-December concluded its first C-130J mission to Africa in support of 17th Air Force (Air Forces Africa), headquartered at Ramstein. The wing’s 37th Airlift Squadron on Dec. 19 completed the mission...

F-22s Back to Guam

Fifteen F-22s, along with a contingent of airmen, from the 90th Fighter Squadron at Elmendorf AFB, Alaska, are scheduled to deploy in January to Andersen AFB, Guam, for about three months. This deployment is part of a normal rotation of...

Wart-hogging the Spotlight

The 354th Expeditionary Fighter Squadron, a contingent of airmen and 12 A-10C ground-attack aircraft from Davis-Monthan AFB, Ariz., flew at a blistering pace to support coalition ground troops during its six-month deployment to Kandahar Airfield, Afghanistan, that is concluding this...

Familiar Faces

Airmen with the Georgia Air National Guard’s 165th Air Support Operations Squadron are now deployed with members of the Army’s 48th Infantry Brigade Combat Team in Nangarhar Province, in eastern Afghanistan. These airmen are assigned to several joint terminal attack...

New Unit Starts Work

The 586th Expeditionary Support Squadron, the Air Force’s newest expeditionary unit in Southwest Asia, was activated Jan. 2 at an air base in the region. The squadron, a component of the 586th Air Expeditionary Group, is charged with providing functions...

US Forces-Iraq Stands Up

More than 300 US and Iraqi servicemen and civilians gathered Jan. 1 at Camp Victory, Iraq, for the activation ceremony of US Forces-Iraq, the new single headquarters organization for all US military forces in Iraq. It replaces Multinational Force-Iraq, Multinational...

Doolittle Raider Dies

Retired Col. James H. Macia Jr., one of the famed Doolittle Raiders, passed away Dec. 20 in Philadelphia. His family informed us of the loss. According to Monday’s San Antonio Express-News obituary, he was 93 and died of complications from...

Vietnam War Airmen Laid to Rest

The remains of CMSgt. Melvin D. Rash, a C-130 loadmaster, missing since his aircraft went down in May 1968 near the Vietnam-Laos border, presumably to enemy fire, were laid to rest with full military honors in December at Arlington National...

Air Sorties from SWA 010509

Air Sorties in Southwest Asia, Dec. 23-26, 2009 Sortie Type OIF OEF OIF/OEF Total YTD ISR 110 123 233 17,251 CAS/Armed Recon 86 343 429 34,878 Airlift 600 600 48,933 Air refueling 176 176 16,973 Total 1,438 118,035 OIF=Operation Iraqi...