: In anticipation of the January arrival of Iraq’s 23rd Airlift Squadron and its three C-130E aircraft, three US Air Force Security Forces airmen are training the members of the first and, as yet, only Iraqi base security unit. Capt. Greg Holmgren, TSgt. Michael Marzec, and TSgt. Jared P. Skinner are teaching the Iraqi enlisted personnel how to set up a security operation of their own to and how to train other Iraqis. According to Skinner, overcoming the language barrier is less arduous than having to instill self-confidence in Iraqi enlisted troops who had been given little to no responsibility in the Saddam regime military. Skinner called their ability to pick up the confidence of the American airmen “encouraging.”
Air Force Gen. Jacqueline D. Van Ovost—a trailblazer and one of the first 10 women to reach a four-star rank across the U.S. military—retired and passed control of U.S. Transportation Command to Air Force Gen. Randall Reed on Oct. 4, finishing an eventful tenure at TRANSCOM.