Fourteen mobility airmen from active duty and Reserve ranks teamed to fly a C-5M Super Galaxy transport on a direct, non-stop mission from Dover AFB, Del., to Bagram Airfield, Afghanistan. The June 5-6 flight was more than 15 hours in duration, including one aerial refueling. While commercial airlines have been using this airspace, this proof-of-concept flight marked the first time that an Air Force aircraft flew this northern route from the United States over Canada into the Arctic Circle and then back down through Russian and Kazakh airspace to Afghanistan. Maj. John Rozsnyai, a US Transportation Command operations planner, said mobility officials eye this route as a quicker means of swapping out deployed troops, aircrews, and air assets supporting Afghanistan operations. Similar flights originating from the western United States wouldn’t require tanker support, he noted. (Bagram report by MSgt. Scott T. Sturkol)
The U.S. military is sending more fighter jets to the Middle East to step up its war with Iran, adding to what is already the largest buildup of airpower in the region since the 2003 invasion of Iraq. For now, the operation shows little sign of coming to a quick…