USAF’s Andersen AFB, Guam, will generate 80 aircraft, including B-2 and B-52 bombers; F-15C, F-15E, and F-16CJ fighters; E-3 AWACS command and control aircraft; and KC-10 and KC-135 tankers, to conduct sorties for a variety of simulated events as part of Valiant Shield 2006. Another nearly 200 will fly off the USS Kitty Hawk, USS Ronald Reagan, and USS Abraham Lincoln. USAF Lt. Col. Colin Wright says his 90th Expeditionary Fighter Squadron will lead the F-15 force as they perform maritime interdiction, which he calls “an emerging skill set for F-15Es.”
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.