USAF’
s versatile C-17 airlifter—easily switching from strategic to tactical transport—recently completed an airdrop of 50,000 pounds of ammunition to US Army units engaged in a firefight in Afghanistan. It was the first such drop for a C-17 of the 817th Expeditionary Airlift Squadron’s Det. 1 based at Manas AB, Kyrgyzstan, and a first for most of its aircrew. (Read more here.)
The Air Force’s recent trend of low promotion rates for enlisted noncommissioned officers continued Aug. 17, as the service announced it had tapped just 9,706 senior airmen out of 45,991 eligible to become staff sergeants—a 21.1 percent promotion rate. That mark is the lowest in nearly a quarter of a…