The US Pacific Command-sponsored “Pacific Angel” humanitarian assistance and capacity building program recently wrapped in the Philippines after a week of training events and outreach activities to residents of Bohol Province, according to Pacific Air Forces release. Service members from the US, Australia, East Timor, Indonesia, and Papua New Guinea participated in the event alongside their Philippine colleagues. Activities included the refurbishment of several schools with new electrical systems and plumbing, subject matter expert exchanges on topics such as public health outreach and crowd control, and the provision of health care services to 5,101 patients. The culminating event was a mass casualty training simulation. These projects and events are a sign of the US commitment to “support international disaster and humanitarian relief efforts in the region,” said USAF Brig. Gen. John Hillyer, the mobilization assistant to the Chief of Staff of PACAF. PACANGEL is executed by PACAF, which also has run iterations in Cambodia, Vietnam, Mongolia, Laos, Nepal, and other countries.
Depot-level maintenance took longer than expected for nearly three-quarters of Air Force aircraft from fiscal 2019-2024, according to a new report, as unplanned repairs rise across the aging fleet. The report, from the Government Accountability Office, also found that the extent of the delays has been masked because officials often revise their target timelines after unplanned work occurs.