A Reminder

That the U.S. Military is still a dangerous profession no matter what our current state of war (or lack thereof) is:

BAMAKO (AFP) — A US military aircraft dropping provisions to Malian troops was fired upon by rebels this week and was slightly damaged, US military officials and diplomats said Thursday.

Major John Dorrian of the US command in Stuttgart, Germany confirmed the attack and slight damage to the C-130 aircraft.

"There was minor damage to the aircraft, but no injuries," he said.

Pentagon military spokesman Commander Ron Hill said the aircraft "received minor structural damage -- some holes in the fuselage".

Dorian added that the damage was likely caused by "small arms fire, probably rifles".

The plane was targeted on Wednesday as it was flying over northern Mali, where the government army is confronting Tuareg insurgents.

A diplomatic source in Bamako said the "the rebels did it (the shooting)."

The aircraft had been air-dropping 6.3 tonnes of food to the Malian troops and the mission was successfully completed, US military officials said.

Just in case you had forgotten.

h/t: Alert 5