A-10s from the 357th Fighter Squadron at Davis-Monthan AFB, Ariz., won the biennial Hawgsmoke ground-attack competition that took place this time at Arizona’s Barry Goldwater Range Complex. “We are the first Active Duty fighter squadron to ever win Hawgsmoke, and to do it here as the home team . . . is special,” said Capt. David Nagle, 357th FS flight leader. “We have the best weather and training airspace in the United States. We can squeeze in more quality ‘hog’ training here than any other base,” he added. A-10s from 15 different Active Duty, Air National Guard, and Air Force Reserve squadrons participated in the games from Aug. 15 to Aug. 17. The second-place 66th Weapons Squadron from Nellis AFB, Nev., will host Hawgsmoke 2014. (Davis-Monthan report by TSgt. Kent Kagarise) (See also Gila Bend report by A1C Saphfire Cook, with full results.)
Earlier this week, the People’s Republic of China confirmed it is halting its nuclear arms control talks with the U.S., in retaliation for the U.S. continuing to sell arms to Taiwan. The move reinforces a “pattern of behavior” from Beijing, experts say.