Airmen with the 571st Mobility Support Advisory Squadron at Travis AFB, Calif., wrapped up training with the Colombian Air Force earlier this month with a successful airdrop mission near Bogota, Colombia. The March 2 airdrop from a Colombian Air Force Casa 295 aircraft capped a month-long Air Mobility Command building partner capacity mission, part of 12th Air Force’s engagement activities in US Southern Command. The 571 MSAS pilots and loadmasters observed five Colombian parachute jumpers and two pallets land in the target range in two passes of the Casa 295, marking the first air drop mission where the USAF advisors were allowed to fly on the aircraft with their Colombian counterparts. The MSAS airmen have taught seminars to the CAF twice a year since August 2012, but in the last six months the Colombian airmen have been able to get more airdrop missions from the Colombian Army. The Colombians are now taking their airdrop and jump skills learned with the MSAS advisors, and visiting additional exercises in South America to train others, 571st MSAS officials said.
Billy Mitchell: Lessons a Hundred Years Hence
Dec. 16, 2025
Exactly 100 years ago, on Dec. 17, 1925, Brig. Gen. Billy Mitchell was convicted by court-martial for violating an order that required approval before he could engage with the media. Mitchell’s provocative thoughts and unorthodox methods sought attention for a cause that he saw as uniquely American
