The Air Force’s in-demand C-130 tactical airlifters are making vital weekly runs to three remote contingency operating locations in the Horn of Africa, calling the missions HOA Flex. The C-130s and their crews are based in Southwest Asia but deliver people, food, water, and other supplies to two sites in Ethiopia and one in Kenya, an area about two-thirds the size of the US. Since the missions started in May 2006, the C-130s have delivered more than 3.5 million pounds of cargo and some 2,400 people, landing on dirt and crushed rock airstrips.
Lt. Gen. Dan Caine, nominee to be chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, told the Senate Armed Services Committee that the Defense Department needs to upgrade its electronic warfare capability and its EW training ranges; just as his predecessor said at his own confirmation hearing.