An Air Force-led contingent of US military medical personnel partnered with the Western Regional Hospital in Belmopan, Belize, to provide medical care to local residents as part of a larger training exercise, announced exercise officials. The 13-day event, which concluded on April 30, was part of US Southern Command’s annual New Horizons humanitarian-assistance training with partner nations in Latin America, states a May 1 release. The Air Force and Army medical personnel carried out ear, nose, and throat surgical procedures on patients in a fully functioning operating room that they created and also supplied hearing aids to local residents, according to the release. “Being a surgeon in the Air Force, I have learned a ton about what it takes to work in austere conditions and working with a team of individuals from multiple bases,” said Maj. Brent Feldt, ENT resident at the San Antonio Military Medical Center at JBSA-Fort Sam Houston, Tex. (Belmopan report by TSgt. Tony Tolley)
The rate of building B-21 bombers would speed up if the fiscal 2026 defense budget passes. But it remains unclear how much capacity would be added, and whether the Air Force would simply build the bombers faster, or buy more.
