An Air Force C-17 aircrew recently transported a well-drilling rig from the Republic of Djibouti to Gode, Ethiopia, in Africa under the auspices of the Combined Joint Task Force-Horn of Africa. (CJTF-Horn is a little-publicized element of Operation Enduring Freedom.) A US Army unit is using the rig to dig four drinking-water wells for the Ethiopians. All of this feeds into the US effort to deal with terrorist inroads in the Saharan and Sahel regions of Africa, which are heavily Islamic and poor.
Airmen basic rarely go on to become four-star generals, but one who did retired last week after a 42 year career that saw him rise from a lowly slick-sleeve to the head of one of the Air Force’s most important major commands.