A-10s from the 81st Fighter Squadron at Spangdahlem AB, Germany, flew top cover for Romanian air force helicopters in rescue scenarios during exercise Dacian Thunder, at Campia Turzii AB, Romania. In one of the combat search and rescue scenarios practiced on July 19, the A-10s located a US airman and guided a Puma helicopter carrying Romanian special forces to retrieve this mock survivor. “If a coalition contingency operation happens, we already have unified tactics, techniques, and procedures established. We won’t have to establish these in a real-world situation because we’re already familiar with one another,” said Capt. Maureen Hartney, 81st FS executive officer, in a July 23 release. British and Romanian airmen as well as US marines are participating in the month-long exercise, alongside pilots; support personnel; and survival, evasion, resistance, and escape specialists from Spangdahlem, according to the release. (Campia Turzii report by SrA. Natasha Stannard)
The Pentagon plans to use U.S. Air Force C-17s and C-130s to deport 5,400 people currently detained by Customs and Border Protection, officials announced Jan. 22, the first act in President Donald Trump’s sweeping promise to crack down on undocumented immigrants and increase border security.