Air Force Reserve Command’s 336th Air Refueling Squadron at March ARB, Calif., flew two weeks’ worth of flying operations with the Egyptian Air Force last month. SSgt. Amy Abbott reports that the US airmen flew day and night sorties, conducting some 40 to 50 refuelings for Egyptian F-16s and Mirages on each flight. Lt. Col. Al Oliver, 4th Air Force tanker scheduler, called the activity a “great opportunity” that extended beyond the March airmen. “It gives people a good opportunity to see how our Air Force operates and allows us to really be ambassadors for America,” he said. The 336th ARS took three seasoned boom operators who could handle the sortie load and the additional burden of speaking very slowly and clearly to ensure the Egyptian pilots understood the instructions. According to Oliver, the Egyptian airmen were “very happy” to receive information from the instructor boom operators in real-time.
Lloyd Austin, President-elect Joe Biden’s pick to lead the Pentagon, spent his Senate confirmation hearing on Jan. 19 pressing his civilian bona fides to lawmakers, with some pledging opposition to the waiver Austin would need to become the nation’s first Black Defense Secretary. Austin spent 40 years in the military…