The 435th Contingency Aeromedical Staging Facility at Ramstein AB, Germany, recently supported the movement of its 30,000th patient since Operation Iraqi Freedom began in 2003. The CASF provides care and support for patients flown into Germany from Iraq or Afghanistan, preparing them to leave for the US on evacuation flights or for transport to nearby Landstuhl Regional Medical Center.
The second version of the Collaborative Combat Aircraft should have more capability than the first but mustn't be an "exquisite" and expensive platform that would defeat the notion of "affordable mass," outgoing Air Force Secretary Frank Kendall said.