Col. Joe Kittinger Jr., USAF (Ret.), completes the first successful solo crossing of the Atlantic Ocean in a balloon, traveling from Caribou, Maine, to Savona, Italy, in 84 hours and setting a new balloon distance record of 3,550 miles.
The Air Force in October carried out a homeland defense mission, with jets including F-16 Fighting Falcons, in Alaska’s remote Aleutian Islands to show a base there could safeguard the northern regions.