A C-17 from JB Pearl Harbor-Hickam, Hawaii, on June 24 dropped more than 25,000 pounds of supplies to Marines on the island of Hawaii as part of the Rim of the Pacific exercise. This marked the first time in RIMPAC’s 22-year history that C-17s are participating. Members of the 535th Airlift Squadron delivered the supplies using improved container delivery system (ICDS) bundles, an airdrop method utilized by C-17s over Afghanistan. “This type of training is not done typically in Hawaii, so it was good for our pilots and loadmasters to be able to conduct this type of real-world training,” said aircraft commander Maj. Paul Anderson. RIMPAC is the largest maritime, biennial exercise in the world. This year’s iteration runs from June 23 to August 1 in and around the islands of Hawaii. Fourteen nations are taking part. (Pearl Harbor-Hickam report by TSgt. Cohen Young)
The use of a military counter-drone laser on the southwest border this week—which prompted the Federal Aviation Administration to abruptly close the airspace over El Paso, Texas—will be a “case study” on the complex web of authorities needed to employ such weapons near civilian areas and the consequences of agencies…
