Airmen exercised with their counterparts in the Dominican Republic air force in combatting illegal drug trafficking in the Caribbean. The early December training on the island nation included Dominican A-29 light attack aircraft, according to a Dec. 5 Air Force release. The airplanes operated from San Isidro Air Base, which is east of Santo Domingo. This exchange is part of the Sovereign Skies Program, an initiative between the United States, Colombia, and the Dominican Republic to share best practices on procedures to detect, track, and intercept illegal drugs moving north from South America. Since the program’s inception, the number of aircraft and sea vessels suspected of trafficking drugs through the Dominican Republic has dropped from more than 100 a year to nearly zero, states the release. (San Isidro report by Capt. Justin Brockhoff) (See also second Brockhoff report.)
More than two dozen F-35 Lightning II fighters are heading to Kingsley Field, Ore., after Air Force Secretary Troy Meink signed the official record of decision to base the jets there on Oct. 5, clearing the last bureaucratic hurdle for the Air National Guard base to host the service’s third…