The Air Force announced Feb. 9 that the remains of Maj. Kenneth Bourland, 37, of Birmingham, Ala., were found Feb. 7 at the Hotel Montana in Port-au-Prince, Haiti, where he had traveled on official business for US Southern Command on Jan. 12, the day the magnitude 7.0 earthquake struck, collapsing the hotel among other widespread damage. The brief announcement noted Bourland in June 2009 had been selected for promotion to lieutenant colonel, and USAF was processing a posthumous promotion. (Also read Birmingham News report; CBS42 TV report)
The U.S. and Sweden signed a bilateral Defense Cooperation Agreement on Dec. 5 that will strengthen military ties between them and likely lead to U.S. troops and prepositioned gear on Swedish soil. Swedish Defense minister Pal Jonson said the war in Ukraine prompted Sweden's joining NATO and he laid out…