The Air Force announced Sept. 14 that SSgt. Bryan D. Berky of Melrose, Fla., died Sept. 12 near Bala Baluk, Afghanistan, of wounds he sustained from enemy fire during combat operations. Berky had deployed to Afghanistan from the 28th Civil Engineer Squadron at Ellsworth AFB, S.D. According to a report by the Rapid City Journal, Berky, 25, was one of three US military members killed in the action that continued for six to eight hours after an initial attack by some 50 Taliban insurgents. The Associated Press (via the Miami Herald) reports that Berky was an explosives ordnance disposal technician.
Fixing the Air Force’s chronic combat pilot shortage will require more aircraft in the fleet, more flying hours to squadron operations, and retaining more pilots within Reserve components, according to a new paper from AFA’s Mitchell Institute for Aerospace Studies.