The 777th Expeditionary Airlift Squadron reached a milestone on Aug. 5 in Iraq when one of its C-130 transported the unit’s 200,000th passenger during a mission from Ali Base to Joint Base Balad. Lt. Col. Chris Cantu, commander of the 777th EAS, was the navigator for the flight and he and the other crew members presented Army Spc. Steven Nix, passenger 200K, with a flag, squadron coin, and a certificate to commemorate the milestone. Members of the 777th EAS, deployed from Little Rock AFB, Ark., are nearing the end of a two-month rotation to Balad. Most of the unit’s C-130 sorties carry between 30 and 40 people, and the crews average about six sorties per day, but a C-130 crew may move as many as 300 passengers per day. (Balad report by SSgt. Don Branum)
Unit commanders are being told to separate service members who can’t shave their cheeks and chin for medical reasons for more than a year, according to new guidance from Secretary of War Pete Hegseth.
