The Air Force on Tuesday airlifted 175 Egyptians home from Djerba, Tunisia, to Cairo aboard C-130Js assigned to Ramstein AB, Germany. With these flights, Air Force and Marine Corps aircraft have now returned more than 1,100 Egyptians to Cairo at the request of the Egyptian government since March 5, according to a Pentagon spokeswoman. The Egyptians had been in Libya and fled to Tunisia when the violent political unrest broke out last month between groups seeking to end the reign of Libyan leader Muammar Gadhafi and forces loyal to him. The C-130Js are staging out of NAS Souda Bay, Crete, for the refugee flights. (AFPS report by Lisa Daniel)
Airmen basic rarely go on to become four-star generals, but one who did retired last week after a 42 year career that saw him rise from a lowly slick-sleeve to the head of one of the Air Force’s most important major commands.