Moving Aussies:
Two of the newly arrived C-17s at Hickam AFB, Hawaii, are on the wing—this time aiding the short-notice movement of Australian forces from the Solomon Islands to Australia, as the Aussies mobilized their forces to support international peace operations in East Timor, which is awash in civil unrest. Pacific Air Forces has been employing the new airlifters and recently indoctrinated air and ground crews in real world contingencies since the aircraft first started calling Hawaii home earlier this year. For this latest mission, PACAF quickly dispatched about 25 active and Air National Guard airmen from Hickam and contingency response forces from Andersen AFB, Guam, to the Solomon Islands and Australia.
The 301st Fighter Wing in Fort Worth, Texas, became the first standalone Reserve unit in the Air Force to get its own F-35s, welcoming the first fighter Nov. 5.