In a first for the Air National Guard, NORAD and US Northern Command have installed ANG CMSgt. W. Allen Usry as their new senior enlisted advisor, replacing Army Command Sgt. Maj. Daniel Wood, who plans to retire. Usry has been serving as command chief at Continental US NORAD Region-1st Air Force/Air Forces Northern, headquartered at Tyndall AFB, Fla. Air Force Gen. Gene Renuart, NORAD/NORTHCOM boss, said during a May 21 ceremony that Usry is “no stranger to the command” and naming him as the new enlisted advisor was “an easy choice.” Usry started his military service in 1982 in the Marine Corps, serving for six years before joining the Oklahoma ANG, in which he first served as a fire protection specialist and then a first sergeant. (NORTHCOM release)
A pair of AC-130J Ghostrider crews have been tapped to receive the 2021 Mackay Trophy, awarded by the Air Force and the National Aeronautic Association for the year’s most meritorious flight. The award is in recognition of their actions during the withdrawal from Afghanistan that aided in the rescue of…