A-10s deployed from Davis-Monthan AFB, Ariz., to Bagram Airfield, Afghanistan, have amassed 10,000 combat flight hours since arriving in theater last fall, according to a Bagram release. These A-10s, operating as the 354th Expeditionary Fighter Squadron, reached the milestone during a Feb. 12 sortie flown by Brig. Gen. Joseph Guastella, commander of Bagram’s 455th Air Expeditionary Wing, according to the Feb. 13 release. The Davis-Monthan A-10s touched down at Bagram last October as part of a regular rotation of combat forces. The expeditionary squadron has seen extensive combat in Afghanistan during Operation Enduring Freedom, operating both at Bagram and at Kandahar Airfield over the years. (Bagram report by SSgt. David Dobrydney)
The credibility of America’s deterrent is waning, and the way to get it back is by restructuring defense leadership and raising the defense budget almost 100 percent, according to a new paper from the Mitchell Institute for Aerospace Studies.