Members of the 535th Airlift Squadron from JB Pearl Harbor-Hickam, Hawaii, joined forces with the Navy’s Special Warfare Unit One from Guam to drop a 19,000-pound, rigid-hull inflatable boat from the back of a C-17 transport. Airmen utilized the maritime craft aerial delivery system, or MCADS, to dispense the boat during the January drill. “With today’s military going joint, it is essential that we merge our technologies and capabilities,” said SMSgt. Chuck Baker, plans and programs superintendent and airdrop loadmaster with Hickam’s 15th Wing. He added, “Each branch has their own specialties, but we need each other to make the overall mission a success. This is why the training in Guam was so important.” MCADS is designed to enable covert delivery of the specially designed boat without detection by enemy sensors or patrols. (Andersen report by SSgt. Mike Meares)
The Air Force has spent more than two years studying cancer risks to Airmen who work with the service's intercontinental ballistic missiles. Now lawmakers in Congress are placing fresh scrutiny on the issue and have prepared legislation that would direct the service to clean silos and launch facilities.