Five 
airmen with the 438th Air Expeditionary Wing in Kabul helped recover parts of an Afghan air force Mi-17 helicopter that crashed in Afghanistan’s mountainous east-central border region of Nuristan. With the assistance of Army Pathfinders, the airmen documented the crash and stripped out usable sections for an Army CH-47 Chinook helicopter to carry back to base in a sling. The airmen and soldiers destroyed the components deemed unrecoverable on site. Nine Afghan personnel were injured in the May 11 crash, but there were no fatalities. The Afghan air force is convening a board of enquiry into the mishap. “This board is made up of various specialties of the AAF,” said Maj. Jay Troxell, 438th AEW safety officer. USAF airmen will play a strictly advisory role in the investigation, which is expected to wrap up next month. (Nuristan report by SSgt. Justin Weaver)
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.