Airmen at Kadena AB, Japan prepared ahead of time the 225,000 pounds of food, medicine, and cold weather items transported by two C-17s, one from Alaska and one from Hawaii, to Shanghai last week. The Kadena employed a new Smart Operations initiative called aerial port expediter, or APEX, for the short-notice mission, saving about “eight hours of downtime for the aircraft,” said TSgt. Korey Aschenbrenner, the APEX load director for the 733rd Air Mobility Squadron at Kadena. Under APEX, Aschenbrenner took the place of the loadmaster for the aircraft, enabling the ground crew to load the supplies while the aircrews took crew rest. Another facet of the APEX initiative trains aerial porters to power up airlifters. (Kadena report by TSgt. Rey Ramon)
To Inspire New USAF Tech, Look to Mars Rover
Feb. 24, 2021
Last week, NASA’s Perseverance rover thrilled citizens of Earth when it landed on Mars with the promise of a new chapter in red planet exploration. But the military could also learn a thing or two from the spacecraft’s trip for future research and development efforts, Space Force Chief Scientist Joel…