A report from Bagram Airfield, Afghanistan, recounts action during the Taliban attack last week. The early morning attack started with rocket propelled grenades, that Lt. Col. James Lowe, commander of the 455th Expeditionary Security Forces Squadron, said caused no significant damage. That was quickly followed by small arms fire and more grenades, some hand-thrown, as Taliban fighters attacked along the perimeter at several points. US airmen, soldiers, and marines and coalition forces engaged the enemy at various points. Joint terminal attack controllers called in Army attack helicopters. US forces had had no time to call for additional support, but about 90 off-duty 455th ESFS airmen showed up ready to join the fight. Lowe called the performance of all his airmen “exceptional,” adding, “They leapt into the fray and fought with vigor and courage.” A few days later, US forces repelled a Taliban attack at Kandahar Airfield. (Bagram report by SSgt. Richard Williams)
Gene Smith, Former POW and AFA Chair, Dies at 91
Jan. 19, 2026
Lt. Col. Richard “Gene” Smith, who overcame five and a half years as a prisoner of war in the notorious Hanoi Hilton from 1967 until 1973, died Jan. 16. He was one day short of his 91st birthday.
