The 625th Strategic Operations Squadron at Barksdale AFB, La., competing for the first time for the Phillips Award, presented to the best overall missile squadron, has taken the honor for 2009. The 625th STOS, now an Air Force Global Strike Command unit, has several missions, including ICBM targeting and targeting system operations, ballistic missile engineering and trajectory analysis, the Strategic Automated Command and Control system, and Airborne Launch Control System training, operations, testing, and evaluation. The squadron commander, Lt. Col Ronald Allen, credits his “exceptional personnel” and “world-class mission partners” for the squadron’s win. “We definitely have an all-star lineup of dedicated professionals; I’m truly honored to be on their team,” said Allen. (The Association of Air Force Missileers sponsors the award, named after the late Gen. Samuel C. Phillips.) (AFGSC report by Megan Orton)
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.