Word among Air National Guard airmen at Lambert Field, in St. Louis is that the 131st Fighter Wing will be heading to Israel soon to exercise its F-15s with the Israeli Air Force. The St. Louis Post-Dispatch reports on the rumored exercise, cautioning that there is no official word on any planned deployment. A US European Command spokesman tells the paper that exercises between the two countries (initiated under President Ronald Reagan) are designed to “increase interoperability and understanding.”
The withdrawal of about 700 U.S. forces from Somalia required a massive nocturnal airlift, movement of fighters and tankers from the Middle East, and other overwatch from drones and other special operations aircraft, all planned and executed within weeks. The mission, called Operation Octave Quartz, came after former President Donald…