The Pentagon announced May 4 that A1C Austin H. Gates Benson, 19, of Hellertown, Pa., died May 3 of injuries sustained in a non-combat related incident near Khyber, Afghanistan. He had deployed from the 54th Combat Communications Squadron at Robins AFB, Ga. No further information was provided. (Also read Express-Times report)
U.S. Air Force F-35s and F-22s regularly deploy deep into the Pacific region from Alaska, Utah, and Hawaii. In the future, though, the head of U.S. Indo-Pacific Command would like to see the Air Force permanently station fifth-generation aircraft west of the international date line—closer to China.