US Transportation Command officials are working out the details of delivering the additional 30,000 US troops and their equipment to Afghanistan by airlift, sea transfer, or land routes by the first half of next year under the Obama’s Administration’s new strategy. “In the coming weeks, we’ll figure out how much needs to move in January, February, March to make sure we can meet the objectives of having all these forces in there by the summer,” said Army Brig. Gen. Michael Lally, TRANSCOM’s director of operations and plans. Already about 1,000 Marines are heading to Afghanistan as part of this build-up. TRANSCOM planners must meticulously synchronize the movement of these troops and materiel into the land-locked nation since the US military lacks the same type of intermediate staging area that it has in Kuwait for troops movements in and out of Iraq. (AFPS release by Jim Garamone)
An F-16 Fighting Falcon assigned to the Texas Air National Guard’s 149th Fighter Wing crashed during a training mission in Michigan on Sept. 17. The fighter's sole pilot ejected and is in stable condition at a local hospital.
