About 100 Marines and six aircraft are on their way to Liberia to provide logistical support to the US personnel helping in the international fight against the Ebola outbreak, Pentagon spokesman Rear Adm. John Kirby said Wednesday. The detachment from Special Purpose Marine Air Ground Task Force Crisis Response is flying four MV-22 Osprey troop transports and two C-130J Hercules transport and air refueling aircraft from their forward operating base at Moron, Spain, to Monrovia, Kirby said. The Marines will serve as “a bridging force” until an aviation unit from the Army’s 101st Airborne Division can come from the United States, he said. “I don’t see this particular deployment as being long term. It’s to get some air assets into the region.” Kirby said the tilt-rotor Ospreys will be particularly helpful getting people and equipment into more remote areas in a nation with limited transportation infrastructure. US military personnel are establishing up to seven mobile medical facilities that will be used to conduct tests to determine if individuals have Ebola. (Kirby transcript)
The last remaining T-1 Jayhawk at JBSA-Randolph, Texas, took its final flight to the "Boneyard" at Davis-Monthan Air Force Base, Ariz., on July 15. The 99th Flying Training Squadron will train pilots using T-6 and simulator until it gets T-7 Red Hawk in fiscal 2026.