US Central Command Air Forces officials say two US Air Force personnel assigned to the 586th Expeditionary Mission Support Group have been killed and a third injured on Jan. 22 by an improvised explosive device. They were on convoy escort duty near Taji, Iraq. The names are being withheld, pending notification of next of kin.
The U.S. supports “a stronger and more capable” European defense, Defense Secretary Lloyd J. Austin III said during an Oct. 22 press conference in Brussels—but that defense should not duplicate the functions and capabilities of the NATO alliance.