Air Mobility Command plans to stand up the 515th Air Mobility Operations Wing June 5 at Hickam AFB, Hawaii. The new unit, which will support mobility aircraft and crews transiting the Pacific, is the first mobility wing established outside of the contiguous 48 US states since AMC’s formation in 1992, the command said in a May 30 release. It will become the headquarters for the existing 715th Air Mobility Operations Group at Hickam and the new 515th AMOG at Yokota AB, Japan. “This new wing will provide an enhanced level of control for our en route structure in the Pacific, which includes critical locations for getting people, cargo and patients to and from war zones,” said Col. Richard A. McClain, who will lead the unit.
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.