Serbia may seem an unlikely pathway to Angola, but for 25 medics from the Ohio Army and Air National Guard, it was exactly that. From Sept. 4-17, the Guardsmen participated in a combined medical engagement (CME) in Serbia that also served as an occasion to build relationships with Angolan servicemen, according to a press release. Medical crews made up of the Guardsmen, Serbian medics, and Angolan observers provided a full range of medical services in villages throughout southeast Serbia, performing more than 3,300 examinations on 1,890 patients. Some of the patients were receiving medical care for the first time in their lives. The mission cemented ongoing ties between the Ohio National Guard and Serbia as part of the National Guard State Partnership Program. Because the Serbian and Angolan militaries have an existing relationship, the CME also served as a prototype of the sort of humanitarian mission that US forces could perform in Angola.
The Michigan Air National Guard’s 127th Air Refueling Group recently put together what may be a first of its kind in the Air Force: a training program that teaches KC-135 tanker crews how to perform specialized fueling operations (SFO): ground-based procedures that could help gas up military aircraft in a…