The 732nd Expeditionary Logistics Readiness Squadron—made up of airmen from around the Air Force—at Forward Operating Base Speicher are serving as escorts for truck convoys through the dangerous corridors around Tikrit, Iraq. These escort airmen trained at an intensive Basic Combat Convoy Course at the Army’s Camp Anderson-Peters, Tex., learning ground combat skills and Army small-unit tactics. They qualified with M-4 carbines and M-249 machine guns. Three airmen—a truck commander, driver, and gunner—crew each escort gun truck.
The Pentagon’s head of research and engineering is prioritizing technologies that can penetrate and operate inside highly contested enemy territory. Top among them are artificial intelligence and autonomy. Undersecretary of Defense for Research and Engineering Heidi Shyu said other priorities on the list include creating the technology and standards for…