The 798th Munitions Maintenance Group stood up Tuesday at Minot AFB, N.D., during an assumption-of-command ceremony. “This is a big step to reinvigorate the nuclear enterprise in the Air Force,” said Col. David Milner, 798th MUMG commander. The new group, consisting of a command element and support staff, will support Air Force Global Strike Command by overseeing four new munitions units that will maintain the service’s nuclear weapons: the 14th Munitions Squadron at Vandenberg AFB, Calif.; 15th MS at F.E. Warren AFB, Wyo.; 16th MS at Malmstrom AFB, Mont.; and Minot’s 17th MS. Already the F.E. Warren and Malmstrom squadrons have been activated. The 798th MUMG falls under the Air Force Nuclear Weapons Center at Kirtland AFB, N.M., now the lead player in USAF’s nuclear weapons sustainment. (Minot report by SrA. Wesley Wright)
U.S. Southern Command recently announced its first lethal strike on a suspected narco-trafficking vessel in two months, and the first under a newly formed permanent counter-cartel task force. The U.S. is also reportedly planning to transfer MQ-9 drones to Colombia to bolster its counter-cartel efforts.