The Air Force is using two C-5B and two C-5M transports operating out of Western Europe to help US Transportation Command move Army helicopters into Afghanistan and bring others back to the United States. The C-5s will haul more than 170 helicopters during this operation, including CH-47 Chinooks, UH-60 Black Hawks, and OH-58 Kiowas, according to Air Mobility Command officials at Scott AFB, Ill. Commercial ships are carrying 159th Combat Aviation Brigade helicopters to Western Europe for loading onto the C-5s, which then fly them directly into Afghanistan. The C-5s are bringing back 101st Combat Aviation Brigade helos to Europe for loading on the ships for the trip back to the United States. The four C-5 are assigned to the 436th Airlift Wing at Dover AFB, Del. (Scott report by MSgt. Scott T. Sturkol)
A new report from the Government Accountability Office calls for the Pentagon’s Chief Technology Officer to have budget certification authority over the military services’ research and development accounts—a move the services say would add a burdensome and unnecessary layer of bureaucracy.
