One of the US officials leading air operations in Southwest Asia, Air Force Maj. Gen. David Edgington, told reporters in Iraq this weekend that airstrikes are down from earlier this year when the number of sorties was running ahead compared to a year ago. He said that earlier data showed a “marked increase, about four times” in the number of weapons dropped, but that data for the past month has shown a “marked decrease.” He attributed the drop to the overall improvement in the security situation recently noted by senior US Central Command officials. Edgington said: “We are having less calls for [air] kinetic operations. We are still there,” meaning the air component continues to maintain combat air patrols should ground commanders call for air strikes. (Transcript with link to video clips)
Clearing jungle and laying asphalt in tropical heat may not sound like fun to most people, but it’s a way of life for Rapid Engineer Deployable Heavy Operational Repair Squadron Engineers (RED HORSE) Airmen, who have spent the past year or so restoring World War II-era airfields on the Pacific…