The Pentagon announced Wednesday that two airmen died May 26 of wounds received from an improvised explosive device near Bagram AB, Afghanistan. Lt. Col. Mark E. Stratton II, 39, had deployed from the Joint Staff at the Pentagon to Afghanistan, where he had been serving as commander of the Panjshir Provincial Reconstruction Team, according to an April 8 American Forces Press Service article . SrA. Ashton L. M. Goodman, 21, of Indianapolis had deployed to Afghanistan from the 43rd Logistics Readiness Squadron at Pope AFB, N.C. According to an Air Force News Service article Goodman wrote, she also was serving with the Panjshir PRT. (A Pope Air Force Base release notes that she is the fourth airman from that base to die in action since the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001. The Mobile Press-Register reports that Stratton grew up in Foley, Ala., leaving in 1987 to attend Texas A&M University.
Due to the prolonged delay in deliveries of the Tech Refresh 3 version of the F-35 fighter, Denmark is pulling six of its TR-2-configured F-35 jets stationed in the U.S. back to home base in order to consolidate aircraft and get better training for its pilots and maintainers, the Danish…