The Air Force’s in-demand C-130 tactical airlifters are making vital weekly runs to three remote contingency operating locations in the Horn of Africa, calling the missions HOA Flex. The C-130s and their crews are based in Southwest Asia but deliver people, food, water, and other supplies to two sites in Ethiopia and one in Kenya, an area about two-thirds the size of the US. Since the missions started in May 2006, the C-130s have delivered more than 3.5 million pounds of cargo and some 2,400 people, landing on dirt and crushed rock airstrips.
The U.S. military is maintaining a beefed-up presence in the Middle East, including fighters and air defense assets, following the U.S. strikes on Iranian nuclear facilities June 22 and subsequent retaliation by the Iranians against Al Udeid Air Base in Qatar.
