Mobility airmen at Kandahar Airfield, Afghanistan, finished the air leg of a multi-modal equipment swap-out between the Army’s 1st Combat Aviation Brigade and 3rd CAB, according to a Kandahar release. During the nearly three-week effort in August, C-5As from JBSA-Lackland, Tex., and C-5Ms from Dover AFB, Del., airlifted more than 120 helicopters between Kandahar and Western Europe, states the Sept. 4 release. The deployed aircrews worked with members of Kandahar’s 8th Expeditionary Air Mobility Squadron, Det. 1 to complete the task. “A lot of advance planning made any obstacles we encountered minor and manageable,” said Capt. Rob Cross, 8th EAMS aircraft maintenance officer. “A solid crew of operators and maintainers backed by a solid supporting cast from Team KAF made the whole operation a grand slam,” he said. (Kandahar report by Capt. Brian Maguire)
The U.S. supports “a stronger and more capable” European defense, Defense Secretary Lloyd J. Austin III said during an Oct. 22 press conference in Brussels—but that defense should not duplicate the functions and capabilities of the NATO alliance.