The Pentagon Sept. 23 announced that TSgt. James R Hornbarger, 33, of Castle Rock, Wash., died Sept. 12 as a result of a non-hostile incident in the Mediterranean. Hornbarger had deployed from the 9th Aircraft Maintenance Squadron, Beale AFB, Calif., to support operations in Afghanistan.
A-10 Thunderbolt II attack planes in the Middle East are flying with fresh modifications as the Air Force looks to make the plane more versatile amid America’s ongoing blockade of Iranian ports and a tenuous ceasefire in the U.S. air war against Iran.