Orlando, February 19, 2010—Still considering how best to sustain the Afghanistan surge logistically, US Transportation Command had to shift gears to include a surge of relief support for earthquake-ravaged Haiti. Gen. Duncan McNabb, TRANSCOM boss, said at AFA’s Air Warfare Symposium that his planners scrambled to figure out what the requirements would be to feed and shelter about one million people. They estimated it would take about 250 cargo containers a day—100 for food, 100 for water, and 50 for other supplies. He noted that Air Force Special Operations Command combat controllers initially got Haiti’s main airport operating again, enabling three airlift missions the day after the earthquake. The next day, that number jumped to 23, and two days later 120 flights.
Gene Smith, Former POW and AFA Chair, Dies at 91
Jan. 19, 2026
Lt. Col. Richard “Gene” Smith, who overcame five and a half years as a prisoner of war in the notorious Hanoi Hilton from 1967 until 1973, died Jan. 16. He was one day short of his 91st birthday.
