Retired USAF Col. Thomas Schaefer, the former military attache at the US Embassy in Iran who was taken hostage for 444 days, died June 4. Schaefer, 85, died at a hospice facility in Scottsdale, Ariz. The former bomber pilot was the highest ranking military officer in the embassy in Tehran when it was seized on Nov. 4, 1979, and Iranian officials accused the Rochester, N.Y.,-native of “running a nest of spies,” according to The Associated Press. While captive, Schaefer was held for 150 days in solitary confinement and endured 14 days of interrogation. When he was finally released in 1981, Schaefer was invited to fly part of the way home in the cockpit of the aircraft taking the rest of the hostages back to the U.S., according to the AP. Schaefer retired from service about two years after he was released, and spoke publicly about his ordeal to students and adults facing adversity, the AP reported.
B-21 Bomber Shelter May Reveal Size of Secret Jet
March 3, 2021
The Air Force may have inadvertently revealed the size of the secret B-21 bomber with the release of an image of a temporary shelter for the airplane. The service is evaluating several designs for temporary shelters for everyday use and deployment to temporary operating locations. If the B-21 fully fits…