A contingent of airmen and six B-52 bombers from the 23rd Bomb Squadron at Minot AFB, N.D., has deployed to Andersen AFB, Guam, replacing an equally sized expeditionary unit of B-52s, operators, and maintainers from Barksdale AFB, La., that was present on the strategic Pacific hub the past four months. The more than 300 airmen of Barksdale’s 20th Expeditionary Bomb Squadron honed their expertise while on Guam, where the United States has maintained a continuous presence of bombers since 2003 by rotating units in from stateside bases for months at a time. “While here, we integrated with the USS Stennis Navy carrier strike group, trained with joint terminal air controllers from Australia, flew multiple missions in Red Flag-Alaska, and engaged with regional partners in Australia, Japan, and [South] Korea,” said Lt. Col. Mike Miller, who led the 20th EBS, in describing some of the unit’s activities during the 176 sorties of their deployment. (Andersen report by SrA. Veronica McMahon)
The Air Force is moving forward with a new, algorithm-driven system to help U.S. Northern Command better detect airborne threats. NORTHCOM and the North American Aerospace Defense Command, which are tasked with protecting the homeland from attack, depend on a slew of radars and other data systems to monitor U.S.…