Air Mobility Command has embarked on a competition to find a commercial service for aerial delivery functions across the command. By contracting out this service, AMC officials expect to be able to eliminate 93 enlisted positions at four facilities: Charleston AFB, S.C.; Dyess AFB, Tex.; McChord AFB, Wash.; and Pope AFB, N.C. The list of aerial delivery functions comprise building and rigging airdrop loads and aircraft loads; packing, repairing, and drying parachutes; scheduling and coordinating load operations; and performing airdrop inspections, aerial control, and drop-zone recovery. We are eager to learn just how many commercial firms provide “drop-zone recovery”
The six-week government shutdown did not affect the hours flown by Air Force pilots, a service spokesperson told Air & Space Forces Magazine—avoiding what could have been a major blow at a time when flying hours are already lower than they have been in decades.
