The Air Force could get an additional 963 military personnel above the end strength of 329,563 proposed in the President’s 2008 budget request. This increase bears no relation to the planned growth of ground forces by 92,000 over the next five years; the Air Force is still crunching numbers to determine the effect of that boost. Instead, the House Armed Services Military Personnel Subcommittee indicated in its markup of the 2008 defense budget bill that the increase would restore medical slots USAF intends to covert from military to civilian. The committee heard testimony from beneficiaries and Surgeon Generals and received recommendations from the Independent Study Group that cited an “adverse impact on access and quality of care for beneficiaries” from these conversions, including those planned by the Navy, stated panel chairman Rep. Vic Snyder (D-Ark.).
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.