The 85th Group officially ended 55 years of Air Force service at NAS Keflavik, Iceland, on June 29. Col. Phillip Gibbons, the 85th Group commander, formally relinquished command and encased the unit’s colors. Most recently, the group handled flight operations for HH-60 helicopters, KC-130 tankers, and F-15s. Air Force officials credit the group’s 56th Rescue Squadron with making more than 308 saves during operations from 1971 to 2003 in the North Atlantic.
The White House announced its United States Space Priorities Framework in a document released concurrently with Vice President Kamala Harris' first National Space Council meeting. Listed among five U.S. priorities is to “defend its national security interests from the growing scope and scale of space and counterspace threats.”