Not all the American evacuees fleeing Lebanon have been flown to Cyprus, some took buses to Incirlik AB, Turkey, where the airmen quickly set up their new deployment processing center to handle the more than 1,600 Americans seeking a way to get back to the US. The Incirlik airmen arranged a travel processing line to include State Department and Turkish officials, as well as legal and chaplain services. Incirlik’s 39th Security Forces Squadron joined forces with State Department Security Service to ensure accountability for all the Americans, and then there were the airmen who created some playtime areas for the children.
Air Force senior statesmen explained the reasons they jointly sent a letter to Congress urging restoration of the E-7 Wedgetail and more F-35s to the fiscal 2026 defense budget.