Bunkers are now in place at Ali Base, Iraq, in response to an increase in rocket attacks. Construction began on the concrete shelters the day after Col. David Orr, 407th Air Expeditionary Group commander, ordered the new bunkers to increase safety and security. Local contractors provided and placed barriers and t-walls to fortify high traffic areas, providing protection for airmen from fragmentation of rockets, shrapnel, and debris. In the near future, the AEG plans to install benches and reinforce the bunkers with sandbags, reports to the base newspaper, Ali Times.
The U.S. military conducted strikes against Houthi targets in Yemen for the second day in a row March 16, hours after U.S. Air Force fighters helped fend off a drone attack by the Houthis in retaliation for an earlier round of U.S. strikes.