The Macon (Ga.) Telegraph has gotten internal documents that indicate the fears of folks at Robins AFB, Ga., are true—the Air Force has decided to move critical civilian personnel functions such as classification to the Air Force Personnel Center in Texas. An announcement earlier this month that USAF planned to shift 170 civilian personnel positions mainly from Air Force Materiel Command facilities, including Robins, to Texas, set off alarm bells, particularly at the service’s air logistics centers. At least one former commander of the Warner Robins ALC thinks the Air Force plan would inhibit a commander’s ability to hire the right people at the right pay. Retired Maj. Gen. Ron Smith told the Telegraph, “I have a hard time figuring out how classification can be done with a thousand-mile screwdriver.”
The Air Force and Boeing agreed to a nearly $2.4 billion contract for a new lot of KC-46 aerial tankers on Nov. 21. The deal, announced by the Pentagon, is for 15 new aircraft in Lot 11 at a cost of $2.389 billion—some $159 million per tail.