The deployment of Air Force combat search and rescue units to assist with Operation Inherent Resolve in late September began with preparations starting more than a month in advance. Airmen from the 435th Contingency Response Group from Ramstein AB, Germany, deployed to Diyarbakir AB, Turkey, on Aug. 12 to set up the infrastructure required for the HC-130s and HH-60Gs that recently were sent to the base. Eighty airmen with the group built 88 operational structures at the Turkish Air Force Base over less than two weeks, according to an Oct. 7 Air Force release. HC-130Js deployed from Moody AFB, Ga., arrived beginning in late September, along with HH-60Gs and a total of 300 airmen, according to the Air Force. Gen. Philip Breedlove, commander of US European Command and NATO Supreme Allied Commander, said last week the deployment will not be permanent and the airmen will be on call for search and rescue operations in support of the fight against ISIS.
The last remaining T-1 Jayhawk at JBSA-Randolph, Texas, took its final flight to the "Boneyard" at Davis-Monthan Air Force Base, Ariz., on July 15. The 99th Flying Training Squadron will train pilots using T-6 and simulator until it gets T-7 Red Hawk in fiscal 2026.