Several Afghans fell to their deaths when the Globemaster III took off, and human remains were found in a wheel well when it landed at Al Udeid Air Base, Qatar.
Airmen would fly 12-hour missions keeping watch over Kabul, then turn into aid workers back in Qatar — passing out baby diapers to refugee mothers, handling passenger lists for outbound C-17s, serving food and more.
The U.S. Air Force is pivoting from orchestrating the massive exodus of over 124,000 Afghans and Americans from a country once again under Taliban rule, to a quieter role helping even more people leave on commercial and privately organized flights.