The International Security Assistance Force reports that a US Air Force CV-22 Osprey crashed late last night in southern Afghanistan, killing three service members and one civilian employee and injuring numerous other service members. Cause of the crash is unknown, according to the ISAF release, which also noted that the tilt-rotor aircraft had crashed about seven miles west of Qalat City in Zabul Province. Air Force Special Operations Command’s CV-22 force made its combat debut in Southwest Asia last fall.
The Air Force will begin its 71st annual Operation Christmas Drop on Dec. 4. The weeklong exercise is a yearly tradition that delivers supplies such as food, fishing equipment, school books, and clothes to remote islands in the Pacific. It is the longest-running Department of Defense humanitarian mission.