HH-60G 
Pave Hawk rescue helicopters from the California Air National Guard’s 129th Rescue Wing at Moffett Federal Airfield last week began dropping water on wildfires outside Bakersfield in southern California. “This is a great example of the use of airpower in the homeland to save lives and property,” said Col. Steven Butow, 129th RQW commander, in an Aug. 15 unit release. Two of the unit’s Pave Hawks, staging from Tehachapi Municipal Airport, initially flew against the Jawbone complex fire in Kern County, states the release. Armed with “bambi buckets” capable of holding some 500 gallons of water, and painted with temporary pink high-visibility markings, the helos delivered 58,000 gallons of water in 120 drops between Aug. 12 and Aug. 14, their first three days of operations, according to the release. Six Air Force C-130s equipped with the Modular Airborne Firefighting System are also battling blazes from bases in California and Idaho. (Moffett report by Maj. Alyson Teeter)
Army Building Up New Space Operations Branch
Oct. 15, 2026
The Army has long been dependent on space capabilities to navigate terrain, communicate in hard-to-reach areas, and identify and strike targets. Now, the service wants to deepen its space operations expertise and is making plans to expand its own cadre of operators in the coming years.