The Air National Guard’s 186th Air Refueling Wing in Meridian, Miss., will gain a new Joint Cargo Aircraft mission and an Air Force War Fighting Headquarters detachment by Fiscal 2011, announced Gov. Haley Barbour last week. Under BRAC 2005, the 186th ARW loses its KC-135 tankers. The governor expects the new missions to add about 180 jobs.
Amid NATO’s continued push to ramp up air defenses in Eastern Europe, Secretary of the Air Force Frank Kendall swung by seven allied countries to boost relations last week, including those on Russia’s and Ukraine’s doorstep.