The Afghanistan War remains a “strategic stalemate” 18 years after it began, the Pentagon's top uniformed officer said Dec. 20, defending the conflict's main mission as successful from the beginning. “This is a very difficult, complicated situation," Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen. ...
The US may soon drawdown forces in Afghanistan, Defense Secretary Mark Esper said Dec. 16. Commanders on the ground say they can accomplish their mission with a smaller footprint allowing the Defense Department to shift troops to higher priority locations. “I would like to go ...
Two pararescuemen on Dec. 13 were awarded Silver Stars for their actions during separate battles in Afghanistan in 2018 and earlier this fall. TSgt. Gavin Fisher, a PJ with the 350th Special Warfare Training Squadron at JBSA-Lackland, Texas, received the medal for a two-day fight ...
CMSgt. Ramon Colon-Lopez on Dec. 13 took over as the newest senior enlisted adviser to the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. Colon-Lopez, who previously served as the top enlisted leader in US Africa Command, is the first airman in the job. The position ...
US and coalition aircraft continued to strike Islamic State group targets in Iraq and Syria in November as US forces drew down in size, according to new statistics from Air Forces Central Command. Last month, aircraft as part of Operation Inherent Resolve conducted 153 airstrikes, ...
The impact of the Dec. 11 Taliban attack on Bagram AB, Afghanistan, extended beyond the hospital targeted outside the installation’s fence line, damaging US military facilities within the perimeter of the heavily fortified base. No US or coalition troops were killed in the suicide bombing ...
Two A-10 pilots with the 303rd Fighter Squadron earlier this month received Distinguished Flying Crosses for their actions in 2008 and 2010 battles in Afghanistan, in which the pilots were credited with saving US forces and eliminating dozens of Taliban fighters. The pilots, Maj. John ...
The Afghan Air Force is under-utilizing aircraft and training the US is providing, which in turn is stressing older airframes and leading to ineffective air support, a Pentagon watchdog states. The Defense Department Office of the Inspector General’s quarterly report on Operation Freedom’s Sentinel in ...
Air Force Secretary Barbara Barrett and Chief of Staff Gen. David Goldfein visited 455th Air Expeditionary Wing airmen at Bagram Airfield, Afghanistan, this week as part of their first joint journey to Air Forces Central Command, according to a Nov. 19 USAF release. Prior to ...
US-managed airstrikes in Afghanistan dropped in October but rose in Iraq and Syria, according to new data published by Air Forces Central Command. In Afghanistan, the number of airstrikes by manned and unmanned platforms dipped from 948 in September to 777 in October. In Iraq ...
A USAF A-10 Thunderbolt II breaks away after aerial refueling from a KC-135 Stratotanker assigned to the 340th Expeditionary Aerial Refueling Squadron out of Kandahar Airfield, Afghanistan, on Aug. 15, 2019. Air Force photo by SSgt. Keifer Bowes. US aircraft...