[D66] CENTCOM: B-52s sent to Middle East Saturday

[R.O.]

  CENTCOM: B-52s from Minot Air Force Base sent to Middle East Saturday

The Air Force relocated B-52 Stratofortress bombers stationed at 
Barksdale Air Force to Minot...
The Air Force relocated B-52 Stratofortress bombers stationed at 
Barksdale Air Force to Minot Air Force Base, as part of a standard 
precautionary plan, amid the threat of Hurricane Laura.(KFYR)

By Joe Skurzewski <https://www.kfyrtv.com/authors/Joe-Skurzewski/>
Published: Nov. 22, 2020 at 1:22 AM GMT+1|Updated: 5 hours ago


MINOT AIR FORCE BASE, N.D. (KMOT) - B-52 Stratofortress crews assigned 
to the 5th Bomb Wing at Minot Air Force Base conducted a “short-notice, 
long-range mission” in the Middle East Saturday, according to U.S. 
Central Command.

According to CENTCOM, the mission was intended to “deter aggression and 
reassure U.S. partners and allies.”

The mission comes less than a week after the Pentagon announced 
reductions of troops to 2,500 in both Iraq and Afghanistan 
<https://www.kfyrtv.com/2020/11/17/pentagon-to-cut-troop-levels-to-2500-in-iraq-afghanistan/>.

According to Bill Urban, a spokesman for CENTCOM, the bombers integrated 
with at least four other national defense elements.

It’s unclear how many aircraft or crew members from Minot were involved 
in the mission.

Urban said the last U.S. long-range bomber presence in the Middle East 
took place earlier this year.

Minot Air Force Base is one of two military installations in the United 
States that houses the B-52s, the other being Barksdale Air Force Base 
in Louisiana.


-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: <http://www.tuxtown.net/pipermail/d66/attachments/20201122/2ebb9d54/attachment.html>