The airmen and soldiers who man the E-8C Joint STARS aircraft of the 128th Expeditionary Airborne Command and Control Squadron have exceeded 23,000 flying hours supporting Operation Iraqi Freedom. The unit flies more than a dozen missions per week, each averaging from 10 to 12 hours. Many of the Air Force members—active duty and Air National Guard—have deployed multiple times. One mission crew commander, Maj. Dennis Dickerson, says that the demand for the platform continues to grow, as the crewmembers discover new capabilities daily on the “still relatively new” Joint STARS.
Amid NATO’s continued push to ramp up air defenses in Eastern Europe, Secretary of the Air Force Frank Kendall swung by seven allied countries to boost relations last week, including those on Russia’s and Ukraine’s doorstep.