A lone 5th Bomb Wing B-52 Stratofortress launched on a 24-hour training sortie, striking simulated targets in France and Germany from its home station at Minot AFB, N.D., announced Minot officials. Refueling four times en-route, the B-52 dropped simulated joint direct attack munitions and unguided munitions as part of a multinational exercise in France, and worked with NATO joint tactical air controllers over Germany, during the late May mission, stated the officials in Minot’s June 12 release. “Flying a long-endurance sortie is outstanding training for aircrew, since it forces them to train in a very real combat-like environment after flying for a long time to get to the area of responsibility,” said Capt. Jarred Prier, 5th Operations Support Squadron mission commander. “Crews often fly long-endurance sorties on our Guam deployments, but this particular mission was a rare opportunity,” he added. The crew linked up with a French air force KC-135FR for fuel, and scrimmaged with French fighters along the way, according to the release. (Minot report by SrA. Jessica McConnell)
The Defense Department hasn’t seen an increase in domestic violence reports among military families since the new coronavirus crisis began, despite the COVID-19 pandemic reportedly causing a spike in such activity across the globe, the head of the Pentagon’s Office of Military Family Readiness Policy told reporters Oct. 29. However,…