The fourth and final iteration of US Pacific Command’s Operational Pacific Angel 2010 has concluded in Sri Lanka. Over an eight-day period in mid August, airmen operating with US military teams worked with their Sri Lankan counterparts to carry out civil engineering projects and provide medical, dental, and optometry care to thousands of patients in Sri Lanka’s Anuradhapura and Puttalam communities. The medical personnel also conducted capacity-building seminars in pediatrics and mental health. The civil engineers repaired and refurbished two primary schools and helped provide equipment for a school in Puttalam. “These activities have had an enormous and positive impact on several communities in Sri Lanka,” said Col. David O’Brien, 13th Air Force surgeon general. The previous Pacific Angel exchanges this year were held in the Philippines in February, Vietnam in May, and Bangladesh in June. (Sri Lanka release by MSgt. Mike Hammond)
Since President Donald Trump first unveiled his “Golden Dome” missile defense initiative in late January, much of the focus for it has been focused on space—how the Pentagon may deploy dozens, if not hundreds, of sensors and interceptors into orbit to protect the continental U.S. from missile barrages. But the Air…