US military aircraft have delivered more than 10 million pounds of aid in support of the international flood relief efforts in Pakistan, according to Defense Department and State Department officials. Currently, an average of four to six C-130 and C-17 transports deliver aid throughout Pakistan each day. There are also 26 US military helicopters in Pakistan supporting the relief efforts, with more offshore aboard the USS Peleliu, a Navy assault ship. Further, an expeditionary contingent of airmen from the 621st Contingency Response Wing at JB McGuire, N.J., has been operating at Pakistan Air Force Base Chaklala since late August to assist in distributing the relief supplies. US military aid operations began July 31. So far, US military helicopters and fixed-wing aircraft, working with the Pakistan military, have rescued more than 17,000 people. (Scott report by MSgt. Scott T. Sturkol)
President Donald Trump’s nominee for Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff touted his highly unusual background for the job as an asset and reaffirmed his commitment to stay apolitical during a confirmation hearing before the Senate Armed Services Committee on April 1.