Air Force Gen. Norton Schwartz, commander of US Transportation Command, told coalition forces at Bagram AB, Afghanistan, last week that the kind of fight going on in Operation Enduring Freedom “cannot be effectively prosecuted from main operating bases.” Schwartz explained that such a “distributed fight” requires airlift, noting that it’s being provided from bases in Afghanistan, Kyrgyzstan, and Turkey, as well as Europe and the US. Whether the cargo is troops, food, water, ammunition, or medical evacuees, said Schwartz, “My impression is that the team is effectively supporting the folks that need it—the shooters.”
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.