A 
depot field team from Robins AFB, Ga., flew to Davis-Monthan AFB, Ariz., to retrieve the horizontal stabilizer from a retired C-5A Galaxy that recently entered the service’s aircraft boneyard. Maintainers will take this stabilizer, or “stab” in their parlance, and place it on another C-5. The Air Force has six C-5s in the fleet that still require stab replacement by December 2012, or they will be grounded for safety reasons, according to Robins officials. Since they aren’t scheduled for programmed depot maintenance until after the deadline, they are coming to Robins just for the stab replacement. The first of them is expected to arrive at Robins later this year. It will get the stab pulled from the boneyard, said Robins officials. They said the C-5’s stab is huge: “bigger than an F-15.” (Robins report by Wayne Crenshaw)
Seven F-22 Raptor pilots have recently been awarded one of the military’s highest decorations for their actions during operations in the Middle East. Six of the pilots were decorated with the Distinguished Flying Cross for their role in Operation Midnight Hammer, the June 2025 strikes against Iranian nuclear facilities.