The 36th Wing at Andersen AFB, Guam, opened a new commando warrior technical training facility at the base’s Northwest Field Jan. 20. The wing’s 736th Security Forces Squadron will use the facility to train about 1,500 airmen per year in robust combat skills before they deploy in support of operations in Afghanistan and Iraq. Prior to its arrival, such training had to be conducted at dispersed locations across the base. According to Lt. Col. Troy Roberts, commander of the 736th SFS, the facility is the first-of-its-kind consolidated training campus in the Pacific region. In addition to airmen, the Air Force will be able to train military members of Pacific partner nations at the facility. (Andersen report by A1C Courtney Witt)
U.S. Southern Command recently announced its first lethal strike on a suspected narco-trafficking vessel in two months, and the first under a newly formed permanent counter-cartel task force. The U.S. is also reportedly planning to transfer MQ-9 drones to Colombia to bolster its counter-cartel efforts.