According to the latest data, the Air Force has flown more than 188,000 sorties in Iraq and another 130,000 in Afghanistan. Air Force Secretary Michael Wynne and Gen. Michael Moseley, Chief of Staff, told lawmakers Wednesday that USAF had flown about 78 percent of the entire coalition air effort for operations in Southwest Asia. Last year, USAF bombers and fighters expended 294 bombs, 90 percent of which were precision-guided munitions.
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.