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Tornado damaged at least 10 jets as it tore through Offutt Air Force Base
A team of inspectors from Barksdale has flown to Offutt to assess the damage, said Capt. Michele Rollins, a spokeswoman at the Louisiana base.
“Global Strike has people on the ground,” she said. “We want to be sure they’re able to do their assessment.”
Rollins said it’s not yet known how long repairs to the two jets will take or how much they will cost.
She said on the night of the storm, a third E-4B — the “primary aircraft” that night — was at another, undisclosed location. She didn’t discuss the fourth jet, but typically one of the aircraft is being overhauled at any given time and is unavailable for missions, 55th Wing maintenance records show.
“Global Strike has people on the ground,” she said. “We want to be sure they’re able to do their assessment.”
Rollins said it’s not yet known how long repairs to the two jets will take or how much they will cost.
She said on the night of the storm, a third E-4B — the “primary aircraft” that night — was at another, undisclosed location. She didn’t discuss the fourth jet, but typically one of the aircraft is being overhauled at any given time and is unavailable for missions, 55th Wing maintenance records show.
U.S.-led Airstrikes Have Allegedly Killed Over 850 Syrian Civilians. So Where Is the Outrage?
No families of slain civilians have been compensated. “Under appropriate circumstances, commands may consider providing solatia payment as expressions of sympathy to those injured or the families of the deceased,” U.S. Air Force Capt. Michele Rollins, a press officer with U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM), tells In These Times. “These payments are not intended to serve as compensation for the loss or injury. At this time, there have been no requests for solatia payments in Syria.”
But has the U.S. actually reached out to any relatives of those it has allegedly killed? “The current environment in Syria makes investigating these allegations extremely challenging,” Rollins says. “Traditional investigative methods, such as interviewing witnesses and examining the site, are not typically available in Syria. Therefore, we are unable to identify and locate family members in Syria.” This is despite the fact that U.S. Special Operations forces have been on the ground in Manbij and other parts of northern Syria.
Still, CENTCOM maintains it is either investigating what happened at Manbij or has already done so. “In accordance with our commitment to transparency,” Rollins says, findings from that investigation will be released “as soon as possible.” Rollins also says the September 17 incident outside Deir Ezzor involving Syrian government forces “will be investigated,” though — unlike with Manbij — the U.S. has already apologized.
But has the U.S. actually reached out to any relatives of those it has allegedly killed? “The current environment in Syria makes investigating these allegations extremely challenging,” Rollins says. “Traditional investigative methods, such as interviewing witnesses and examining the site, are not typically available in Syria. Therefore, we are unable to identify and locate family members in Syria.” This is despite the fact that U.S. Special Operations forces have been on the ground in Manbij and other parts of northern Syria.
Still, CENTCOM maintains it is either investigating what happened at Manbij or has already done so. “In accordance with our commitment to transparency,” Rollins says, findings from that investigation will be released “as soon as possible.” Rollins also says the September 17 incident outside Deir Ezzor involving Syrian government forces “will be investigated,” though — unlike with Manbij — the U.S. has already apologized.
In Controversial Syria Strike, Critical Minutes Lost Sorting 'Cryptic' Phone Calls
Col. John Thomas, the spokesman for U.S. Central Command, which oversees U.S. military operations in the Middle East, said that this first phone conversation was “cryptic."
“We weren’t exactly sure what they were saying,” he said.
He told VOA in an interview later that the coalition took a “good while” before the appropriate U.S. official and his or her Russian source made contact via a second call.
"I’m not sure how long the delay was or why,” Thomas told VOA, “but it wasn’t immediate.”
“We weren’t exactly sure what they were saying,” he said.
He told VOA in an interview later that the coalition took a “good while” before the appropriate U.S. official and his or her Russian source made contact via a second call.
"I’m not sure how long the delay was or why,” Thomas told VOA, “but it wasn’t immediate.”
14 more civilians dead in anti-ISIL air war
In addition to the 55 dead, 29 civilians have been wounded accidentally in the war, according to Air Force Capt. Michele Rollins, a Central Command spokeswoman.
US rejects claim that ISIS downed plane in Iraq
But a spokesperson for the US Central Command rejected the Amaq claim.
“There is no truth to reports of (ISIS) downing (a) US aircraft in the vicinity of Anbar. All US and coalition aircraft are accounted for at this time,” Captain Michele Rollins told AFP.
“There is no truth to reports of (ISIS) downing (a) US aircraft in the vicinity of Anbar. All US and coalition aircraft are accounted for at this time,” Captain Michele Rollins told AFP.
CENTCOM releases investigation into airstrike on Doctors Without Borders trauma
The U.S. Forces-Afghanistan (USFOR-A) investigation into the U.S. airstrike on Oct. 3, 2015, against a medical facility in Kunduz, Afghanistan, resulting in civilian casualties has been released and posted online at CENTCOM’s Freedom of Information Act Reading Room....
70 years after Hiroshima, grandson carries on Enola Gay pilot’s legacy
In the hallway outside his new office, Brig. Gen. Paul W. Tibbets IV walks daily past a black-and-white glossy of his late grandfather, who piloted the plane that dropped the first atomic bomb on Japan 70 years ago Thursday.
Bone Transplant
The Air Force’s B-1 fleet, along with the Long-Range Strike Bomber program, is moving from the oversight of Air Combat Command to Air Force Global Strike Command, effective Oct. 1, the service announced.
The 63 B-1s in the inventory and some 7,000 airmen will transfer to AFGSC under the move, joining the Air Force’s nuclear-capable B-2A and B-52H fleets under the command, officials stated.
The B-1s deliver only conventional munitions and are primarily spread across the 7th Bomb Wing at Dyess AFB, Texas, and the 28th BW at Ellsworth AFB, S.D. “With a single command responsible for the Air Force’s entire long-range strike fleet, the airmen in AFGSC will benefit from better coordination and increased sharing of expertise,” said Chief of Staff Gen. Mark A. Welsh III.
The consolidation will also “help provide a unified voice to maintain the high standards necessary in stewardship” of the bombers, said Air Force Secretary Deborah Lee James.
When asked if the 7th BW and 28th BW would become part of 8th Air Force, AFGSC’s organization that oversees the B-2 and B-52 forces, AFGSC spokeswoman Capt. Michele Rollins said the detailed planning surrounding the realignment is still in progress.
—Aaron M. U. Church
The 63 B-1s in the inventory and some 7,000 airmen will transfer to AFGSC under the move, joining the Air Force’s nuclear-capable B-2A and B-52H fleets under the command, officials stated.
The B-1s deliver only conventional munitions and are primarily spread across the 7th Bomb Wing at Dyess AFB, Texas, and the 28th BW at Ellsworth AFB, S.D. “With a single command responsible for the Air Force’s entire long-range strike fleet, the airmen in AFGSC will benefit from better coordination and increased sharing of expertise,” said Chief of Staff Gen. Mark A. Welsh III.
The consolidation will also “help provide a unified voice to maintain the high standards necessary in stewardship” of the bombers, said Air Force Secretary Deborah Lee James.
When asked if the 7th BW and 28th BW would become part of 8th Air Force, AFGSC’s organization that oversees the B-2 and B-52 forces, AFGSC spokeswoman Capt. Michele Rollins said the detailed planning surrounding the realignment is still in progress.
—Aaron M. U. Church
Holloman still on track to get more F-22s
Public affairs officers at the Pentagon and Holloman say it's premature to discuss Gates' recommendation.
A Holloman spokeswoman, 2nd Lt. Michele Rollins, says the base has seven F-22A Raptors and is slated to receive 40 by the end of 2010.
A Holloman spokeswoman, 2nd Lt. Michele Rollins, says the base has seven F-22A Raptors and is slated to receive 40 by the end of 2010.
