On July 7, Air National Guardsmen and Air Force Reservists of the 302nd Air Expeditionary Group entered their 12th day of firefighting support in California. On July 6 alone, airborne assets from the group, which include eight specially modified C-130 transports, carried out 69 airdrops, delivering more than 100,300 gallons of fire retardant and water on the wildfires in an effort to control them. From the start of the aerial operations on June 26, the 302nd AEG has dispensed close to 850,000 gallons of fire retardant and water in 746 airdrops across the state. The group operates from McClellan Airfield near Sacramento. (McClellan report by SSgt. Luke Johnson)
On Jan. 4, a dozen U.S. Air Force F-22 Raptors departed Puerto Rico, where they had landed following their participation in Operation Absolute Resolve. Those fighters appeared to have flown directly from their home base at Joint Base Langley-Eustis, Va., to participate in the operation and returned there two days…
