As the drawdown of US combat forces in Iraq continues, airmen with the 732nd Expeditionary Support Squadron at Joint Base Balad are helping to process vast quantities of military equipment bound for refurbishment in the United States or being sent to military locations of higher priority like Afghanistan. “The airmen and soldiers here are scheduled to redeploy $17 billion in equipment over a six-month deployment,” said CMSgt. Barry Schulhofer, 732nd ESS chief enlisted manager. He noted that the next rotation of personnel “is scheduled to do even more.” Items range in size from hand-held laser pointers to mine-resistant, ambush-protected vehicles. “Without an RPAT, there is a greater likelihood of items being misplaced, lost, or left in the enemy’s hands,” said Capt. Christine Carr, 732nd ESS RPAT officer in charge. (Balad report by SSgt. Phillip Butterfield)
As with previous stealth aircraft unveilings, the Air Force’s imagery of the F-47 Next-Generation Air Dominance fighter has been doctored to keep adversaries guessing about its true shaping and design philosophy.