The Biden administration will evacuate thousands of Afghan interpreters as the U.S. military withdraws from the country, with planning speeding up this week as Afghan leaders visit the White House and the Pentagon. President Joe Biden, June 24 said “We’ve already begun the process. Those ...
Afghanistan
The crew of an AC-130J on June 22 received Distinguished Flying Crosses and Air Medals for protecting helicopters evacuating wounded American and Afghan forces during a September 2019 fight in Afghanistan. The Ghostrider, callsign Shadow 71, provided about two hours of constant close air support ...
The U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan continues on pace, and though Taliban violence has increased—with the group taking more districts from the Kabul-based government—there are no plans to slow the drawdown yet. U.S. Central Command said June 22 that more than 50 percent of the withdrawal ...
Defense Secretary Lloyd J. Austin III on June 10 would not say whether the U.S. military will still conduct airstrikes in Afghanistan to defend population centers after the retrograde completes this summer, but the Pentagon is pursuing ways to base surveillance and strike aircraft closer ...
U.S. forces are about half way done with the planned withdrawal from Afghanistan as the U.S. and NATO pledge to continue support in new ways. U.S. Central Command boss Gen. Kenneth F. McKenzie Jr. said June 7 that with so much progress already, “we will ...
The Air Force recently awarded Bombardier a $465 million contract for up to six more E-11A Battlefield Airborne Communications Node aircraft. The E-11A, a heavily modified Bombardier Global 6000 business jet, acts as a “Wi-Fi in the sky." It is used heavily in Afghanistan, connecting ...
U.S. forces will reportedly hand over control of Bagram Airfield, the major headquarters of American air operations in Afghanistan, to Afghan forces within about three weeks. Agence-France Presse reported June 1 that the U.S. military will hand the base over to the Afghan government in ...
The military’s withdrawal from Afghanistan is speeding up, with five facilities now handed over to the Afghan government and about 115 C-17 loads of material flown out of the country. U.S. Central Command reported May 18 that more than 5,000 pieces of material also have ...
U.S. C-17s have now flown 104 loads of materiel out of Afghanistan as the retrograde continues, and U.S. Central Command plans to destroy more than 1,800 pieces of equipment. Between six and 12 percent of the entire retrograde process is complete, CENTCOM said in a ...
The U.S. military is looking at new ways to train Afghan forces and for contractors to continue to work on Afghan Air Force aircraft following the full withdrawal of American troops this year. Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Army Gen. Mark A. Milley, ...
Two more B-52s arrived at Al Udeid Air Base, Qatar, on May 4, bringing the total number of Stratofortresses deployed to the region to six as the U.S. continues its withdrawal from Afghanistan. The bombers, from the 5th Bomb Wing at Minot Air Force Base, ...
The retrograde from Afghanistan is underway, with U.S. Air Force C-17s carrying equipment and other materiel out of the country. U.S. Central Command in a May 4 statement said about 60 C-17 loads have moved out of the country since President Joe Biden on April ...