Four C-130 transports and about 170 airmen from Ramstein AB, Germany, concluded the 12-day Exercise Thracian Spring with the Bulgarian military April 6 at Bezmer Aviation Base, Bulgaria. The annual bilateral exercise allowed training and knowledge sharing between paratroopers, pilots, firefighters, security forces, aircraft and equipment maintainers, air traffic controllers, and medical, communications, and command and control personnel from both nations. “We see our interoperability improving more and more as we go, and that’s a major success of this exercise,” said Lt. Col. Mark August, operations officer from Ramstein’s 37th Airlift Squadron who was USAF’s mission commander for Thracian Spring. (USAF report by 1st Lt. Melissa J. Stevens)
The Air Force could conduct an operation like Israel's successful air campaign against Iran's nuclear sites, military leadership and air defenses, but readiness issues would make it risky, airpower experts said. Limited spare parts and training, low mission capable rates and few flying hours would put a drag on USAF's…