Texas Weekly Online

Texas-trans-white
Menu
Menu

Author: shailender

Pentagon identifies 6 US airmen killed in refueling tanker crash in Iraq after midair collision

Pentagon identifies 6 US airmen killed in refueling tanker crash in Iraq after midair collision

The Pentagon has identified six U.S. service members who were killed when a KC-135 refueling aircraft crashed in western Iraq during a combat mission in support of Operation Epic Fury. The incident, which occurred on Thursday, took place in “friendly” airspace during an unspecified incident involving another aircraft. While the other plane landed safely, the KC-135 crashed. Military officials said the incident was not due to hostile or friendly fire and remains under investigation. The airmen were assigned to the 6th Air Refueling Wing at MacDill Air Force Base in Florida and the 121st Air Refueling Wing at Rickenbacker Air National Guard Base in Columbus, Ohio, according to U.S. government and state officials. Those killed were Maj. John “Alex” Klinner, 33; Capt. Ariana Savino, 31; Tech. Sgt. Ashley Pruitt, 34; Capt. Seth Koval, 38; Capt. Curtis Angst, 30; and Tech. Sgt. Tyler Simmons, 28.  3 US WARPLANES SHOT DOWN BY KUWAITI AIR DEFENSES, PILOTS BAIL OUT IN FRIENDLY FIRE INCIDENT, CENTCOM SAYS Maj. John “Alex” Klinner, 33, leaves behind three small children — 7-month-old twins and a 2-year-old son, his brother-in-law, James Harrill, confirmed. A graduate of Auburn University and an eight-year U.S. Air Force veteran from Birmingham, Alabama, Klinner had recently moved with his family into a new home, according to his wife, Libby Klinner. “It’s kind of heartbreaking to say: He was just a really good dad and really loved his family a lot — like a lot,” Harrill said. An outdoorsman who enjoyed hiking, Klinner was also known for helping others. Harrill recalled that when he last saw him in January during a family wedding, Klinner helped shovel Harrill’s vehicle out of the snow. FORMER TOPGUN PILOT DECLARES IRAN MILITARY ‘OVER WITH’ AMID US AIR SUPERIORITY, BUT WARNS OF ANOTHER DANGER “Alex was one of those guys that had this steady command about him,” Harrill said. “He was literally one of the most kind, giving people.” Libby Klinner said her heart is broken for their children, who will grow up not knowing their father. “They won’t get to see firsthand the way he would jump up to help in any way he could,” she wrote in a post. “They won’t see how goofy and funny he was. They won’t witness his selflessness, the way he thought about everyone else before himself. They won’t get to feel the deep love he had for them.” OPERATION EPIC FURY SURVIVES SENATE CHALLENGE AS REPUBLICANS CLOSE RANKS BEHIND TRUMP Klinner was assigned to the 6th Air Refueling Wing at MacDill Air Force Base in Florida, though Alabama Gov. Kay Ivey said he was stationed in Birmingham. Capt. Ariana Savino, 31, of Covington, Washington, was also assigned to the 6th Air Refueling Wing at MacDill Air Force Base. Savino was among the crew members aboard the KC-135 refueling aircraft when it crashed in western Iraq. Tech. Sgt. Ashley Pruitt, 34, of Bardstown, Kentucky, was the third member of the MacDill-based crew killed in the crash. Pruitt served with the 6th Air Refueling Wing and was deployed as part of the mission when the aircraft went down. Capt. Seth Koval, 38, served as a KC-135R Stratotanker instructor pilot with the 166th Air Refueling Squadron at the 121st Air Refueling Wing in Columbus, Ohio. The Ohio National Guard said Koval was an aircraft commander with 19 years of service. While the Ohio National Guard listed his home in Stoutsville, Ohio, the U.S. government listed his hometown as Mooresville, Indiana. US STRIKES MORE THAN 1,700 TARGETS IN IRAN DURING FIRST 72 HOURS OF OPERATION EPIC FURY A graduate of Purdue University, Koval first enlisted in 2006 as a machinist with the Indiana National Guard’s 122nd Fighter Wing before transferring to the Ohio Air National Guard in 2017. He earned his commission in 2018 and completed instructor pilot upgrade in 2024. Over the course of his career, Koval logged 2,076 total flight hours, including 443 combat hours. Capt. Curtis Angst, 30, served as a KC-135R pilot with the 166th Air Refueling Squadron at the 121st Air Refueling Wing in Columbus, Ohio. While the Ohio National Guard listed his home as Columbus, the U.S. government listed his hometown as Wilmington, Ohio. A graduate of the University of Cincinnati with a degree in aerospace engineering, Angst initially enlisted in the Ohio Air National Guard in 2015 as a vehicle maintenance technician with the 123rd Air Control Squadron. He earned his commission in 2021, completed undergraduate pilot training in 2023, and qualified as a KC-135R pilot in April 2024. During his career, Angst logged 880 total flight hours, including 67 combat hours. Tech. Sgt. Tyler Simmons, 28, of Columbus, Ohio, served as a KC-135R boom operator with the 166th Air Refueling Squadron. He was responsible for transferring fuel from the tanker to receiver aircraft during missions. 4 US SERVICE MEMBERS KILLED IN REFUELING AIRCRAFT CRASH IN IRAQ Simmons entered the Air Force in 2017 and initially served in the security forces before transitioning to aviation in 2022. He became a mobility force aviator in 2023 and reached the rank of technical sergeant on May 1, 2023. During his career, Simmons logged 779 total flight hours, including 230.4 combat hours. Simmons’ family told WCMH-TV in Columbus they were devastated by the loss. “Tyler’s smile could light up any room, his strong presence would fill it. His parents, grandparents, family and friends are grief stricken for the loss of life,” they said. Maj. Gen. Matthew S. Woodruff, Ohio adjutant general, said the state is mourning the loss of the three “remarkable” Ohio airmen. “Today we mourn the loss of three remarkable Airmen whose service and commitment embodied the very best of our Ohio National Guard,” Woodruff said. U.S. Central Command said the aircraft crashed during a combat mission over western Iraq in “friendly” territory. Military officials stated that the incident involved an unspecified interaction with another aircraft that landed safely and that the crash was not caused by hostile or friendly fire. The KC-135 Stratotanker refuels other aircraft in midair,

New guard of GOP women says Democrats can’t ‘pigeonhole’ female voters as they target key House races

New guard of GOP women says Democrats can’t ‘pigeonhole’ female voters as they target key House races

A new wave of Republican women running in competitive congressional races is aiming to chip away at Democrats’ long-held advantage with female voters — and flip key seats that could determine control of the House this November. In an interview with Fox News Digital, one of these candidates, Laurie Buckhout, a former cattle rancher, U.S. Army veteran and mother, knocked the Democratic Party for trying to “pigeonhole” female voters into a single category. “The Democrats try way too hard to pigeonhole us women in a certain role while they still can’t define what a woman is,” she quipped. She believes that despite the rhetoric, Democrats are “really out of touch when it comes to women voters.” DEMOCRATS SINK TO NEW VOTER LOW, REPUBLICANS ALSO UNDERWATER: POLL “They try to own that gender and try to stuff them in a box,” she went on. “’This is how you’re going to vote. Don’t tell your husband. This is how you are going to think.’ Republicans don’t do that.” This midterm election, Buckhout is running to unseat Democratic Rep. Don Davis in North Carolina’s 1st Congressional District. The district stretches across the northeastern corner of the state from the border with Virginia to the Atlantic coast. After narrowly losing to Davis in the 2024 election, Buckhout’s campaign has already garnered significant momentum this time around. She defeated a field of four other Republican candidates in the March 3 primary and, just this week, was further bolstered by an endorsement from President Donald Trump. As the dominant party in an off-year midterm cycle, many expect that Republicans will take a beating at the ballot box this November. Buckhout, however, thinks it will be a very different story in North Carolina. With the GOP barely grasping onto a razor-thin majority in the House of Representatives, every seat matters. “I can tell you the people of North Carolina, especially eastern North Carolina, they want to live their lives with a minimum of government interference, they don’t want big government leaning in, telling them how to live their life, what to do, taking their money out of their pockets for more and more taxes for programs that they don’t need and they didn’t vote for,” she said. “So, I can tell you that we feel very good about this being a Republican election, taking this, adding another seat to the House.” Buckhout is not the only female Republican candidate who stands a good shot at flipping a blue district red this year. In one of the GOP’s top targeted districts, Carrie Buck, a former school principal and self-described minivan mom, is angling to unseat Rep. Dina Titus in Nevada‘s 1st Congressional District in Las Vegas. As of the latest Federal Election Commission filings, Buck has significantly outraised Titus, further signaling the incumbent’s vulnerability. MINIVAN MOM PUTS DEM INCUMBENT ON NOTICE IN TOP GOP TARGET DISTRICT: ‘SHE HAS DONE NOTHING FOR US’ Buck told Fox News Digital that after serving in Congress since 2013, Titus has “had her chance, and Nevada families are still waiting for results.”   “I spent 30 years in classrooms — teaching, running schools, and working to fix problems. During that same time, Dina Titus was in public office, unable and unwilling to address the challenges Nevadans face: rising inflation, soaring crime rates, an open border, and failing schools,” she said. On the East Coast, Tiffany Burress, a New Jersey attorney who is a newcomer to the political scene, is running to unseat Democratic Rep. Nellie Pou, who is considered vulnerable. If the GOP could pick up the seat, it would be a huge boon in retaining the majority. “Voters are ready for something different, and that’s how I know we’re going to win,” Burress told Fox News. She knocked Pou, saying she has “spent decades living on the taxpayers’ dime,” and “puts extreme progressive agendas ahead of the priorities of our district” by voting with the likes of Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y., nearly 94% of the time. LEGALIZE PROSTITUTION EFFORT LEFT CANDIDATE ‘SHOCKED’ IN BLUE STATE WITH RAMPANT HUMAN TRAFFICKING Similarly, Barb Regnitz, in Indiana’s 1st Congressional District, is running to flip a long-held Democratic seat currently filled by Rep. Frank Mrvan. Regnitz, who is a former software engineer and current Porter County commissioner, told Fox News Digital that “for almost 100 years, Republicans have been powerless to stop the failed policies of the far-left that have resulted in falling incomes, struggling industry, and increasingly unsafe communities right here in Northwest Indiana.” “I’m running for Congress because I believe our district deserves serious, principled leadership focused on results, not rhetoric,” she said. Down in Texas, another Republican woman, Jessica Steinmann, is fighting to retain a Republican seat north of Houston, being left vacant by Rep. Morgan Luttrell, who opted not to seek re-election. Steinmann served in President Donald Trump’s Justice Department during his first term as director of the Office for Victims of Crime. She told Fox News Digital she is running for Congress “because the next two years of President Trump’s administration are critical for our country.” “I was proud to serve in the first Trump administration, where I saw firsthand what strong, America First leadership can accomplish,” she said, adding, “I’m confident that message will carry us to victory in November.”

Iran’s Space Research Centre severely damaged in strikes

Iran’s Space Research Centre severely damaged in strikes

NewsFeed Video has revealed the Iranian Space Research Centre in west Tehran has suffered significant damage from Israeli-US strikes. The ISRC is Iran’s leading satellite and intelligence mapping research agency. Published On 15 Mar 202615 Mar 2026 Click here to share on social media share2 Share plus2googleAdd Al Jazeera on Googleinfo Adblock test (Why?)

Former CIA chief reveals early knowledge of Israeli attack plans

Former CIA chief reveals early knowledge of Israeli attack plans

NewsFeed Former CIA chief General David Petraeus says the US attacked Iran to scuttle its ability to defend itself against a premeditated Israeli attack. The comments back up those of Secretary of State, Marco Rubio who later tried to backtrack on the admission. Published On 15 Mar 202615 Mar 2026 Click here to share on social media share2 Share plus2googleAdd Al Jazeera on Googleinfo Adblock test (Why?)

Barrage of US-Israeli strikes target Isfahan

Barrage of US-Israeli strikes target Isfahan

NewsFeed A US-Israeli strike on a factory in Isfahan has killed least 15 people, according to Iranian media. Several sites, including an IRGC airbase, were also struck in the barrage. Published On 15 Mar 202615 Mar 2026 Click here to share on social media share2 Share plus2googleAdd Al Jazeera on Googleinfo Adblock test (Why?)