The 2007 budget proposal contains final funding—$2.9 billion—for the C-17 airlifter, providing for delivery of the 180th aircraft in 2008 and production shutdown and tooling storage. USAF plans to upgrade 112 C-5 airlifters. For tactical mobility, the Air Force has requested $867 million to buy nine C-130Js and to cover support and training for various J model aircraft.
Air Force Gen. Jacqueline D. Van Ovost—a trailblazer and one of the first 10 women to reach a four-star rank across the U.S. military—retired and passed control of U.S. Transportation Command to Air Force Gen. Randall Reed on Oct. 4, finishing an eventful tenure at TRANSCOM.