Cobbling together three 3,850-gallon tanks and some spare parts and piping, engineers and maintainers built a pre-mix station, vastly accelerating aircraft de-icing at Bagram Airfield, Afghanistan. Filling trucks from 55-gallon drums of deicing fluid and mixing the solution with water “could take up to three hours,” said Todd Mighell of the 455th Expeditionary Maintenance Group. “Last year, there were missions that had to be scrubbed because the de-icer trucks were not able to keep up with the demand.” Using the temporary mix station, “a 2,450-gallon truck can get filled in about 20 minutes,” explained Mighell, meaning that the base now keeps up with demand. “Even if the permanent station never shows up, this one will definitely do the job,” he added confidently. (Bagram report by TSgt. Vernon Cunningham)
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.