It was the 14th Airlift Squadron of Charleston AFB, S.C., that was flying Vice President Dick Cheney on his Southwest Asia tour last month when the Vice President became the object of a suicide bomber attack at Bagram AB, Afghanistan. Cheney stayed there overnight due to poor weather. USAF journalist Shauna Heathman reports that within an hour of the red alert on the morning of Feb. 27, the Charleston crew had Cheney back on the C-17 on his way to Kabul for a meeting with Afghan President Hamid Karzai. It was the first time the 14th AS had flown such a high-ranking VIP.
The U.S. is moving to surge firepower over Iran, including its capital of Tehran, defense officials leading the campaign said March 5 at U.S. Central Command headquarters. Bomber strikes are being stepped up and additional fighter squadrons are being deployed.