B-1s operating in Eastern Europe for a bomber task force continued their tour of the region, deploying to Poland for the first time March 12. The B-1B from the 7th Bomb Wing at Dyess Air Force Base, Texas, touched down at Powidz, Poland—the first time a Lancer has landed in the country. While on the ground, the bomber conducted a “hot pit” refueling—filling up on fuel with engines running to return to flight rapidly, according to a U.S. Air Forces in Europe release.

The USAF air refueling mission to support French counter-terrorism operations in Mali is entering its eighth year, with KC-135s offloading more than six million pounds refueling French aircraft. The 100th Air Refueling Wing at RAF Mildenhall, United Kingdom, is now the sole unit deploying to support the mission, called Operation Juniper Micron. KC-135s and Airmen deploy to Morón Air Base, Spain, to fly the missions to refuel French aircraft. From February 2020 to February 2021, the KC-135s from the 351st Expeditionary Air Refueling Squadron flew 204 sorties, totaling 1,800 hours.

A dozen C-130Js from the 374th Airlift Wing at Yokota Air Base, Japan, supported more than 500 Japan Ground Self-Defense Force members in the “largest static-line personnel jump and cargo drop” between the two countries, according to a USAF release. “This was not an overnight effort. To generate more than 80 percent of Yokota’s C-130J fleet required months of extensively planned logistics for the aircraft to be available, as well as planning and orchestration of the aircraft parking plan, and proper resourcing of aircraft configurations in order to make the mission happen,” said Maj. David Perkins, 374th Aircraft Maintenance Squadron operations officer, in a March 12 release.

Air Force Capt. Melaine Valentin, a T-38C instructor pilot from Laughlin Air Force Base, Texas, leveraged her lifelong passion for visual art when asked to design a morale patch for Air Education and Training Command’s 2019 Women’s Fly-In. But since the event, the patch's popularity has grown so much that the company she worked with to get it manufactured now sells it on its website. According to Valentin, representation is the biggest hurdle women aviators face, so “having this tangible representation” of their ability to get behind the controls of an aircraft can also give women who never thought about a flying career as a possibility permission to envision such a future. “This is an example,” she said. “This is a dream that you can have.”

On March 23, the Air Force Association's Mitchell Institute for Aerospace Studies will host a virtual Nuclear Deterrence Series event featuring Scowcroft Group Principal Frank Miller. At a time when nuclear modernization programs are accelerating around the world, proposals to recapitalize the U.S. nuclear arsenal are at the forefront of debates over defense spending. Miller will share his insights into the prospects for U.S. nuclear modernization programs and the value of nuclear deterrence in today's competitive security environment. The think tank will post event video on its website and YouTube page after the live event.