Airman, Family Injured in Brussels Attack

An Air Force lieutenant colonel and his family were injured in the attack at the Brussels airport, the service announced. The airman is assigned to NATO’s Allied Joint Force Command Brunssum in the Netherlands. “We are saddened by today’s attacks and extend our sincere condolences to the victims and families of those impacted,” Air Force Secretary Deborah Lee James said in the statement. “Our priority at this time is the safety and well-being of our airmen and their families.” US European Command on Tuesday temporarily banned US military personnel from traveling to Belgium following the deadly? terrorist attacks in Brussels. The US State Department and military commands in Belgium urged American citizens to shelter in place and avoid all public transportation after the explosions. Belgium remained under a terror threat rating of Level 4, which indicated a serious and imminent attack. US Air Forces in Europe-Air Forces Africa, in a post on its Facebook page, urged those in its command to “stay vigilant and stay safe.” NATO increased alert at its headquarters in Brussels, and Secretary General Anders Fogh Rasmussen said in a statement the events were a cowardly “attack on our values and on our open societies. Terrorism will not defeat democracy and take away our freedoms.”