Dyess Gets 23rd New C-130J: The 317th 
Airlift Group at Dyess AFB, Tex., took delivery of its 23rd factory-fresh C-130J transport, leaving the unit only five airframes shy of its planned full complement of Super Hercules airplanes. The new aircraft arrived at the Texas base on Sept. 13, piloted by Brig. Gen. Lee Levy, Air Mobility Command’s director of logistics. Dyess is expected to receive it remaining five C-130Js by 2013, according to base officials. The new airlift force will replace the group’s legacy fleet of C-130Hs. Once the final Super Hercules is in place, Dyess will be home to the largest C-130J force in the world, said the officials. The group received its 22nd C-130J on Aug. 29. (Dyess photo caption by A1C Damon Kasberg)
U.S. Southern Command recently announced its first lethal strike on a suspected narco-trafficking vessel in two months, and the first under a newly formed permanent counter-cartel task force. The U.S. is also reportedly planning to transfer MQ-9 drones to Colombia to bolster its counter-cartel efforts.