Airmen with Air Force Reserve Command’s 920th Rescue Wing at Patrick AFB, Fla., hosted 10 members of the Uruguayan armed forces, providing them hands-on training in water rescue. The Uruguayans included pilots, a loadmaster, and jumpers—the equivalent of USAF pararescuemen. They flew with the wing’s HC-130s for extended-range jump training over the Banana River, just outside of Patrick, during their five-day visit, which concluded Sept. 2. This stay was part of an ongoing exchange program between Uruguay and US Southern Command. Airmen from the wing will travel to Uruguay next year to continue the training. (Patrick report by Capt. Cathleen Snow)
Happy Birthday US Air Force: 78 Today
Sept. 18, 2025
Seventy-eight years ago today, on Sept. 18, 1947, Supreme Court Chief Justice Fred Vinson swore in Stuart Symington as the first ever Secretary of the Air Force, and the Air Force officially became the first new military service since the Revolutionary War.