Lt. Col. Sam Milam, commander of the 75th Expeditionary Fighter Squadron and deployed from Moody AFB, Ga., amassed 3,000 combat flying hours during a Feb. 28, 2009, sortie out of Bagram AB, Afghanistan, according to a March 5 photo release; a week earlier, he also flew on the unit’s 10,000th combat flight hour sortie. n A1C Jimmy Farias, deployed from Elmendorf AFB, Alaska, to Afghanistan, set a record for most fuel pumped within 52 days, providing 1,001,978 gallons to 428 coalition aircraft, according to a March 2 photo release. n On Feb. 20, Lt. Col. Brenda Cartier became the first female flying squadron commander in Air Force Special Operations Command when she took leadership of the 4th Special Operations Squadron, an AC-130U Spooky gunship unit at Hurlburt Field, Fla., per a Feb. 23 Hurlburt release.
Air Force Gen. Alexus G. Grynkewich assumed command of U.S. European Command on July 1, taking over the key assignment as the U.S. and its allies contend with a resurgent Russia and a grinding war in Ukraine.
