Airmen from the New York Air National Guard’s 105th Airlift Wing, with a little help from a West Virginia Air Guardsman, flew a C-5 to Soto Cano AB, Honduras, where they loaded a team of 19 airmen and soldiers and two helicopters for transport to the Dominican Republic. The Joint Task Force Bravo team from Soto Cano is helping primarily with search and recovery efforts following tropical storm Noel. The C-5 aircrew diverted from its initial mission which had taken the Air Guardsmen to Spain to support operations in Southwest Asia, reports 1st Lt. Erika Yepsen. West Virginia’s 167th Airlift Wing flew its first operational C-5 mission earlier this year.
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.