The 1st Special Operations Wing has completed its operational readiness inspection that was set for this month by its participation in relief actions for earthquake-devastated Haiti, so says Lt. Gen. Donald Wurster, Air Force Special Operations Command boss. Some 220 air commandos of the 1st SOW were the first US military personnel on the ground in Haiti, where they quickly established airfield operations to enable the flow of relief flights. Wurster said, “In light of the recent short-notice deployment to Port au Prince, Haiti, … the objectives of the upcoming have been fully satisfied.” Col. Gregory Lengyel, 1st SOW commander, praised the Haiti effort and added that was not the only factor in assessing ORI completion. He said, for instance, that the AFSOC inspector general “has been recording maintenance generation and operational flying metrics in OIF/OEF for two months to count towards the ORI employment phase.” (Hurlburt report by SrA. David Salanitri)
As commercial companies, universities, and research agencies develop new approaches to operating satellites at lower and lower altitudes, the Space Force is taking notice and considering how it might leverage those advances in both the near and long term.