Officials at JB Elmendorf, Alaska, have released the names of the four airmen who died in Wednesday’s C-17 crash near the base (see coverage below). They are: Maj. Michael Freyholtz, pilot with the Alaska Air National Guard’s 249th Airlift Squadron, Maj. Aaron Malone, 249th AS pilot, Capt. Jeffrey Hill, pilot with the active duty 517th AS, and MSgt. Thomas Cicardo, 249th AS loadmaster. “We come to work with immense sorrow after four of our fellow airmen lost their lives in the C-17 crash,” said Brig. Gen. Charles Foster, commander of the Alaska ANG’s 176th Wing. He added, “They were more than valued airmen: They were our teammates, friends, family members, and fellow Alaskans.” Col. John McMullen, commander of Elmendorf’s 3rd Wing, said of these airmen “selflessly served their country and will be sorely missed by our entire Arctic Warrior family.” (Elmendorf release)
No sooner had the Defense Intelligence Agency issued its North Korean Military Power report, in which it predicted Pyongyang would resume ballistic missile tests, than North Korea did exactly that, lofting a submarine-launched ballistic missile Oct. 19. The test, in which an SLBM launched from the port of Sinpo into…