Airmen
of the 23rd Wing at Moody AFB, Ga., flew two HH-60G Pave Hawk rescue helicopters and one HC-130P tanker aircraft on a 10-hour mission April 25 to help saves the lives of six Cubans in distress at sea in the Gulf of Mexico after fleeing the communist nation. The Panamanian-flagged tanker ship Eos discovered the Cubans and pulled them from the waters, officials from Moody said in an April 30 release. At the request of the Coast Guard, the Moody element then deployed to retrieve the Cubans from the tanker, which was located about 260 miles south of New Orleans, to bring them to a medical facility in the city.
Three of four congressional committees with influence over defense policy have voted to change the official name of the Department of Defense to the Department of War—but final approval of the Pentagon rebrand is months away and not yet assured.