A C-17 was involved in a mishap Jan. 30 while landing at Bagram AB, Afghanistan. Air Forces Central said in a Jan. 30 release that the incident took place at about 10:20 p.m. local time. Initial reports indicated that the aircraft landed “with its gear not fully extended,” causing a small fire, according to a separate release that same day from US Forces Afghanistan. There were no injuries to the aircrew, but the airfield was closed “until further notice,” USFOR-A said. A safety board will be convened to investigate the incident. Afghanistan was the site of another C-17 accident back in December when one of the Boeing-built transports made a hard landing at Kandahar Air Field, sustaining damage. (For more, read Stars and Stripes Feb. 1 report.)
After years of serving as the bill-payer for other Pentagon priorities, munitions stockpiles are poised to get a major boost from the $150 billion reconciliation package unveiled by lawmakers in Congress this week, along with the defense industrial base to...