Advisors with the 571st Mobility Support Advisory Squadron from Travis AFB, Calif., recently met with Honduran air force officials for the first time in Tegucigalpa, Honduras, to identify potential mentorship areas. “The most important part of the experience was the opportunity to establish a relationship . . . that can be built upon in the future to help strengthen our partner nation’s capabilities,” said Lt. Col. Joseph Sanchez, 571st MSAS commander. After touring the Honduran air base’s facilities, the Travis airmen assessed the airfield’s communication and navigation aids and engine maintenance shop. They conferred with the Hondurans entirely in Spanish, which Sanchez described as “key” to a foundation of trust. The Hondurans conveyed keen interest in air traffic control modernization, formalizing a technical training school, as well as survival evasion resistance and escape training. The 571st MSAS is charged with building partner capacity throughout Latin America. (Travis report by MSgt. Michael Raffa and TSgt. Aaron Carrillo)
The use of a military counter-drone laser on the southwest border this week—which prompted the Federal Aviation Administration to abruptly close the airspace over El Paso, Texas—will be a “case study” on the complex web of authorities needed to employ such weapons near civilian areas and the consequences of agencies…
