Air
Force Secretary Michael Donley last week told airmen with the 455th Air Expeditionary Wing at Bagram Airfield, Afghanistan, that their activities in areas like close air support, airlift, and intelligence-surveillance-reconnaissance are critical to the success of US forces in that country. “The importance of the joint mission cannot be stressed enough,” said Donley, who visited the base Feb. 1-2 as part of his weeklong tour of US Central Command’s area of responsibility. He highlighted the new MC-12 surveillance aircraft, which recently made its debut in Afghanistan, as an example. “That is a testament to our ISR capabilities and the importance of the support we provide the combatant commanders,” he said. Donley acknowledged the high operations tempo that airmen have endured in supplying these capabilities and thanked them for their sacrifices and commitment. (Bagram report by SSgt. Richard Williams)
Army Gen. Christopher G. Cavoli, head of U.S. European Command and Supreme Allied Commander Europe, warned that Russia would remain an enduring threat to NATO and global security, regardless of the outcome of the war in Ukraine.