Air Force rescue personnel sprang into action Wednesday to help the Afghan victims of a massive blast caused by an improvised explosive device detonating at a local market in Nahr-e Saraj in Helmand Province. These members of the 41st Expeditionary Rescue Squadron, an HH-60 Pave Hawk helicopter unit assigned to Kandahar Airfield, Afghanistan, treated and triaged 30 patients upon arriving at the scene, including five who required immediate life-saving measures. The Pave Hawks then evacuated 16 of the patients, including some of the seriously injured, to local medical facilities for further care, “This was a phenomenal combined effort to accomplish this mission,” said Lt. Col. Thomas Kunkel, 41st ERQS commander. He praised the coordination amongst the coalition members that made quickly aiding the Afghans civilians possible. (Kandahar report by Capt. Kristen Duncan)
The Pentagon is counting on Congress to navigate a legislative tightrope and pass a party-line bill to fund nearly a quarter of its $1.5 trillion budget request for fiscal 2027, including billions of dollars for top priorities like Golden Dome, the F-35, munitions, and unmanned systems. Experts and lawmakers from…