: Air Force officials concluded the final iteration of Operation Pacific Angel 2009, a humanitarian and civic assistance exercise, on Sept. 22 in Vietnam. Led by 13th Air Force at Hickam AFB, Hawaii, civil engineers and medical staffs from the ranks of active duty and Air National Guard units in Alaska, Guam, Hawaii, and Washington, spent nearly two weeks in Vietnam’s Quang Tri Province. The medical team provided more than 5,000 Vietnamese with general medical, while the civil engineers refurbished the Cam Thuy Medical Clinic. Col. Wayne Pritt, 13th AF command surgeon, said the exercise allowed the airmen “not only bring very important aid to this community, but to also build and foster relationships here in Vietnam.” The first iteration of Pacific Angel 2009 took place concurrently in Indonesia and Timor Leste in July. (Quang Tri report by TSgt. Kerry Jackson)
The U.S. military is maintaining a beefed-up presence in the Middle East, including fighters and air defense assets, following the U.S. strikes on Iranian nuclear facilities June 22 and subsequent retaliation by the Iranians against Al Udeid Air Base in Qatar.
