The 
last C-5A Galaxy at Westover ARB, Mass., departed the base for good en route to retirement at the Air Force’s aircraft boneyard in the Arizona desert, according to base officials. The 44-year-old airframe (aircraft No. 68-0211) left Westover on Sept. 25 for Davis-Monthan AFB, Ariz., states Westover’s Oct. 5 release. Nicknamed “Miss Piggy,” the massive transport was assigned to the West Virginia Air National Guard’s 167th Airlift Wing at Martinsburg, but arrived at Westover almost a year ago in preparation for its retirement, according to the release. Officials with the 309th Aerospace Maintenance and Regeneration Group at Davis-Monthan said they received a total of 11 C-5As, along with three B-1B bombers and seven legacy-model C-130s, in a “retirement rush” during the last two weeks of Fiscal 2012. The Air Force wants to retire its remaining C-5A fleet, while upgrading its C-5Bs and C-5Cs to C-5M Super Galaxy standards. (Includes Westover report by MSgt. Andrew Biscoe)
Canada’s defense minister Bill Blair said May 13 the Chinese spy balloon's infamous weeklong path over Alaska, Canada, and the continental United States in 2023 was a “wake-up call” for his country as he shuttled around Washington to sell Ottawa's bolstered defense strategy to his American allies.