US Alaska Command and the Alaska National Guard mounted their annual expedition to recover airmen’s remains from the 1952 crash site of a C-124 Globemaster II on Colony Glacier. Expeditions have been able to recover and identify the remains of 17 of the 52 airmen killed since the crash was located by a National Guard helicopter crew in 2012, ?according to officials. “Our hope and goal is to find and return the remaining 35 service members,” Navy Lt. Cmdr. Paul Cocker, Operation Colony Glacier project officer, said in a release. “It is an honor and privilege … to possibly provide closure for all the families involved,” he added. “We are committed to assisting in the safe recovery of any human remains, personal effects, and equipment at the crash site. As with any operation of this nature, great care and consideration for family members will be our first priority,” Cocker said. The C-124 was lost with all aboard when it crashed enroute from McChord AFB, Wash., to Elmendorf AFB, Alaska, during a storm. Searchers plan to continue the recovery through the end of June, weather permitting.
Amid NATO’s continued push to ramp up air defenses in Eastern Europe, Secretary of the Air Force Frank Kendall swung by seven allied countries to boost relations last week, including those on Russia’s and Ukraine’s doorstep.