An airman assigned to JB San Antonio, Texas, was shot and injured in the Jan. 6 shooting at the Fort Lauderdale, Fla., airport. SMSgt. Christopher B. Prather is recovering at a Florida hospital following the incident. Prather is an Active Duty member assigned to the Air Force Installation and Mission Support Center at the base, where he is a vehicle maintenance major command functional manager, the center said in a statement. On Friday, 26-year-old Esteban Santiago, a former Army National Guard soldier and Iraq War veteran, opened fire at the airport’s baggage claim area, killing five and wounding six before surrendering to police. Santiago appeared in court on Monday, where he is facing three charges, two of which carry the possibility of the death penalty, CNN reported.
In order to deny China “sanctuaries” from which it can launch air and missile salvos during a potential invasion of Taiwan, the U.S. Air Force needs to buy far more B-21 bombers and F-47 fighters than currently planned, according to a new report from AFA’s Mitchell Institute for Aerospace Studies.
