The latest such mission has two C-130s and 24 airmen from the 463rd Airlift Group at Little Rock AFB, Ark., spending 120 days in Southwest Asia. It takes them three days—with stopovers in Canada, the United Kingdom, and Italy—to reach the theater. Some of the Little Rock airmen have made 54 such trips to SWA. “We know it is dangerous, but each time we load up one C-130, that is one less convoy that will be put in harms’ way,” said loadmaster SSgt. Paul Rose.
Air Force exercises in the Indo-Pacific may soon get even bigger and more robust, as lawmakers move to invest more than $620 million in such efforts. The bulk of that money, contained in a $150 billion reconciliation package currently making its way through Congress, is $532.6 million for earmarked for…