Dominican air force pilots, radar controllers, and officials visited Air Forces Southern’s combined air and space operations center at Davis-Monthan AFB, Ariz., along with the 309th Fighter Squadron and 607th Air Control Squadron at Luke Air Force Base, also in Arizona. The Dominicans recently acquired A-29B Super Tucano light attack aircraft and a ground-based radar surveillance network. They are also working to develop a command and control system to help them coordinate intercepting narcotics traffickers in Dominican airspace. The USAF airmen demonstrated live ground-control intercept procedures, flying Dominican officers in two-seat F-16Ds. They also provided a tour of the CAOC. “This visit provides an excellent opportunity for the [Dominicans] to leverage our lessons learned,” said Lt. Col. Edward Boxx of the Joint Inter-Agency Task Force South. (Davis-Monthan report by Capt. Sarah Schwennesen)
Airmen basic rarely go on to become four-star generals, but one who did retired last week after a 42 year career that saw him rise from a lowly slick-sleeve to the head of one of the Air Force’s most important major commands.