More than 100 members of the Missouri Air National Guard’s 139th Airlift Wing deployed to Al Udeid AB, Qatar, in late February. While deployed aircrews, maintenance, and support personnel from the 180th Airlift Squadron and the 139th Maintenance Group along with a portion of the wing’s C-130 Hercules fleet will support Operation Inherent Resolve missions against ISIS terrorists in Iraq and Syria, according to a March 3 release.
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.