Six airmen assigned to the 774th Expeditionary Airlift Squadron at Bagram Airfield, Afghanistan, plus their C-130, recently helped close down Forward Operating Base Salerno in eastern Afghanistan by flying out the last US military personnel from there, according to a Bagram release. “This mission was unique,” said SSgt. Matt Pockette, C-130 loadmaster with the unit. “We had to deal with people walking up to the aircraft at the last minute to get on with extra baggage and cargo,” he said in the Oct. 29 release. Overall, the C-130 lifted out 250 passengers, two all-terrain vehicles, and 2,500 pounds of baggage in support of closing down Salerno. “It feels good when you see how happy everyone is to get out of there,” said SrA. Bradley Price, another C-130 loadmaster. Salerno had the nickname “Rocket City” for the number of rocket attacks it endured. (Bagram report by SSgt. Stephenie Wade)
The rate of building B-21 bombers would speed up if the fiscal 2026 defense budget passes. But it remains unclear how much capacity would be added, and whether the Air Force would simply build the bombers faster, or buy more.
