Leadership for Kandahar Airfield in Afghanistan has changed from the US military to NATO’s International Security Assistance Force. Air Force SSgt. Julie Weckerlein reports that this marks the first time a NATO multinational team has taken control of a large airfield and operational staging base in an active theater. RAF Air Commodore Ashley Stevenson, who took command from US Army Col. Richard Stevens, now oversees the shared efforts by US, Canada, Netherlands, and United Kingdom forces to maintain the facility and support its 10,000-strong military and civilian force. USAF airmen deployed to Kandahar work primarily in US Army positions.
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…
