The Defense Department has released the names of the eight airmen killed in last week’s shooting incident at Kabul International Airport in Afghanistan. They are: Lt. Col. Frank D. Bryant Jr., 37, of Knoxville, Tenn. He was assigned to the 56th Operations Group at Luke AFB, Ariz. (Luke release) Maj. Philip D. Ambard, 44, of Edmonds, Wash. He was with an assistant professor of foreign languages at the Air Force Academy in Colorado Springs, Colo. (USAFA release) Maj. Jeffrey O. Ausborn, 41, of Gadsden, Ala. He was a C-27 instructor pilot assigned to the 99th Flying Training Squadron at Randolph AFB, Tex. (Randolph release) Maj. David L. Brodeur, 34, of Auburn, Mass. He was an 11th Air Force executive officer at JB Elmendorf-Richardson, Alaska. (Elmendorf release) Maj. Raymond G. Estelle II, 40, of New Haven, Conn. He was assigned to Headquarters Air Combat Command at Langley-Eustis. (Hartford Courant report) Capt. Nathan J. Nylander, 35, of Hockley, Tex. He was assigned to the 25th Operational Weather Squadron at Davis-Monthan AFB, Ariz. (Arizona Daily Star report) Capt. Charles A. Ransom, 31, of Midlothian, Va. He was a cyberspace airman with the 83rd Network Operations Squadron at Langley-Eustis. (Lackland release) MSgt. Tara R. Brown, 33, of Deltona, Fla. She was assigned to the Air Force Office of Special Investigations at JB Andrews, Md. (Daytona Beach News Journal report) (DOD release)
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.

