Airmen of the 376th Civil Engineer Squadron’s explosive ordnance disposal flight at the Transit Center at Manas, Kyrgyzstan, continue to build bonds with the Kyrgyz military. The unit has just completed its fourth training class at Manas for Kyrgyz EOS specialists. Fourteen Kyrgyz soldiers graduated from the five-day class on Aug. 6. “For us the key thing was to be able to show them how to do something and then let them try it for themselves,” said TSgt. Nicholas Schulte, chief of the EOD flight, in describing the instruction. “Thank you so much for this opportunity for our new generation of sergeants to observe and apply these skills,” said Col. Ziabek Beishebekovich Kamchibekov, chief of the Kyrgyz military’s engineering department. At the graduation ceremony, the USAF airmen donated four EOD suits to the Kyrgyzs. (Manas report by TSgt. Jennifer Buzanowski)
The Space Force awarded three contracts for rocket launches worth up to a combined $13.68 billion on April 4—and the usual players SpaceX and United Launch Alliance have got some competition in the form of newcomer Blue Origin.