A new-build C-17 transport aircraft arrived last week at JB Charleston, S.C., giving the 437th Airlift Wing its 60th C-17. Charleston’s Post and Courier reported that Gen. Gary North, Pacific Air Forces commander, flew the aircraft to Charleston from Boeing’s C-17 assembly plant in Long Beach, Calif., on Feb. 3. The 437th AW operates Charleston’s C-17s in concert with Air Force Reserve Command’s 315th AW under an association. Charleston hosts USAF’s largest assembly of C-17s.
The U.S. military is maintaining a beefed-up presence in the Middle East, including fighters and air defense assets, following the U.S. strikes on Iranian nuclear facilities June 22 and subsequent retaliation by the Iranians against Al Udeid Air Base in Qatar.
