Airmen from the 36th Contingency Response Group at Andersen AFB, Guam, and sailors from the US Naval Base Guam will sail to Wake Island, where they will assess the damage to the island and airfield operations following Super Typhoon Ioke. Two C-17 airlifters from Hickam AFB, Hawaii, had airlifted to Hawaii all 188 people on the island before the storm hit. Wake Island commander, Air Force Capt. Nate Harris, said island personnel had prepared facilities “as best we could.”
President Donald Trump on July 4 signed into law $150 billion in defense funds as part of the tax-and-spending package known as the “One Big, Beautiful Bill” after congressional Republicans approved the legislation in narrow, drawn-out votes earlier this week.