The 86th Contingency Response Group from Ramstein AB, Germany, has 15 airmen on the ground in Tbilisi, Georgia, to maintain aerial port operations for the regularly arriving flights of US humanitarian aid. Since flights began, the US forces have delivered more than 200 short tons of relief supplies. US European Command is coordinating the airlift, which has included USAF C-17s and C-130s and a US Navy C-9, which made its first delivery on Aug. 18. (Includes 3rd Air Force report; AFPS report by John Kruzel; Navy report by Lt. Cmdr. Corey Barker)
Air Force Chief of Staff Gen. Kenneth S. Wilsbach told lawmakers Apr. 30 that the service’s biggest airlifter, the C-5 Galaxy, has a 37 percent mission capable rate—one of several challenges facing the mobility fleet.