Air Force engineers with the 557th Expeditionary RED HORSE Squadron in Iraq are teaching former Iraqi insurgents in the town of Hawr Rajab, a former al Qaeda stronghold, basic construction skills so that they may rebuild their communities and learn a trade that offers them a chance of a promising future. The airmen are part of the Multi-National Corps-Iraq village of hope program that provides these Iraqis “another form of technical training to help them get jobs in the community as carpenters, electricians, and plumbers,” said Capt. Michael Askegren from Hurlburt Field, Fla., the site officer in charge of nearby Patrol Base Stone. So far, 210 students have enrolled in the program, 133 of whom have already completed the course. (Hawr Rajab report by SMSgt. Trish Freeland)
In Purge, Trump Fires Brown, Slife, Franchetti, and More
Feb. 21, 2025
President Donald Trump fired Air Force Gen. Charles Q. Brown Jr. as Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, announcing his intent to nominate retired Air Force Lt. Gen. John "Dan" Caine to replace him in a social media post Feb. 21.