SrA. Raymond Jones, a plans and programming projects manager with the 332nd Expeditionary Communications Squadron at Joint Base Balad, Iraq, on Oct, 3 established a wounded warrior program at the base to ease the transition of wounded servicemembers through the medical evacuation process there. Jones, who deployed from McChord AFB, Wash., decided to start the Balad Wounded Warrior Program based on his firsthand experiences with the medevac process after he dislocated his knee and had to be transferred to the Landstuhl Regional Medical Center in Germany for treatment. “It was a confusing time for me,” he explained. He said he told himself then that, if given the chance to redeploy, he would start the wounded warriors program in addition to executing his primary mission. (Balad report by SrA. Andria J. Allmond)
House, Senate Unveil Competing Proposals for 2026 Budget
July 11, 2025
Lawmakers from the House and Senate laid out competing versions of the annual defense policy bill on July 11, with vastly different potential outcomes for some of the Air Force’s most embattled programs.