US service members were on the Afghan base that was targeted by the Taliban on Friday. The US personnel sheltered in place at the facility, and “were not affected,” Pentagon spokesman Navy Capt. Jeff Davis said. However, more than 140 Afghan National Army soldiers were killed in the attack. The US responded and assisted Afghan forces in ending the attack though US personnel were not directly involved in the fight, Davis said. Defense Secretary James Mattis visited Afghanistan on Monday and said the Taliban attack, which targeted soldiers as they were leaving a mosque, shows “They have no religious foundation. They are not devout anything.” Also Monday, a Taliban car bomb targeted a US-operated base in the Khost province. There were reportedly Afghan casualties, but no US personnel were harmed, according to Reuters.
The Air Force still needs more than 300 combat squadrons, but the biggest priority is not number of squadrons but capability, Chief of Staff Gen. Charles Q. Brown Jr. said Sept. 22. He also suggested the records set by the Next Generation Air Dominance prototype likely have more to do…