SrA. James A. Hansen, 25, of Athens, Mich., died Wednesday of wounds suffered during a controlled detonation at JB Balad, Iraq, the Defense Department has announced. Hansen was assigned to the 46th Operations Support Squadron at Eglin AFB, Fla. He was one of the roughly 6,000 airmen still in Iraq supporting Operation New Dawn, the advise-and-assist mission that supplanted Operation Iraqi Freedom on Sept. 1. (DOD release)
The six-week government shutdown did not affect the hours flown by Air Force pilots, a service spokesperson told Air & Space Forces Magazine—avoiding what could have been a major blow at a time when flying hours are already lower than they have been in decades.
