The remaining 24 members of the 79th Rescue Squadron at Davis-Monthan AFB, Ariz., returned home on Oct. 14 from a deployment supporting Operation Inherent Resolve, according to a base release. The airmen were among the 1,200 from the base deployed this year in support of operations around the globe, marking the “largest deployment at D-M since World War II,” states the release. The airmen, who were assigned to the Personnel Recovery Task Force, were “providing 24-hour personnel recovery, seven days a week, in the Middle East,” said Lt. Col. Jim Brunner, 26th Expeditionary Rescue Squadron commander. “This included Guardian Angel Teams with the HH-60 and we provided the HC-130 support.”
B-52 Stratofortress bombers marked a new first in Operation Epic Fury when some of the BUFFs flew over Iran carrying JDAM-guided gravity bombs, according to people familiar with the matter. The development signals a weakening of Iranian air defenses and a new use for the venerable bomber in the nearly…