Gen. Craig R. McKinley receives his fourth star from Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates and takes charge of the National Guard Bureau. He is the first four-star general to head the NGB and the first Air Force officer since 2002.
A-10 Thunderbolt II attack planes in the Middle East are flying with fresh modifications as the Air Force looks to make the plane more versatile amid America’s ongoing blockade of Iranian ports and a tenuous ceasefire in the U.S. air war against Iran.