The lates
t edition of Green Flag, now a key close air support training exercise, featured USAF F-15E and French Air Force Mirage F1 fighters, working with MQ-9 Reaper, E-8C Joint STARS, and RC-135 Rivet Joint teams. The 63 airmen in the French force were only the second group to participate in a Green Flag. Lt. Col. Patrick Oudot, commander of the French detachment, said: “We fight side-by-side with Americans in Afghanistan. When you are in war is not the time to discover your allies. … We have to train side-by-side and be combat ready.” The Joint STARS contingent included US soldiers who serve on the E-8C mission crew as airborne target surveillance supervisors to help process Army ground force requests. Part of the Green Flag exercise included working with the Army’s 3rd Brigade Combat Team training at the National Training Center at Ft. Irwin, Calif. (Nellis report by 2nd Lt. Jennifer Richard; NTC report by Casey Bain)
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.