The 374th Force Support Squadron as Yokota AB, Japan, has won the Curtis E. LeMay Award for being the best force support, services, and mission support squadron in the Air Force. “This is a great achievement not only for the 374th FSS, but for Yokota overall,” said CMSgt. James Russell, the unit’s superintendent. The squadron, a part of Yokota’s 374th Airlift Wing, beat out units from Hill AFB, Utah, Maxwell AFB, Ala., and Nellis AFB, Nev. Air Force Services Agency evaluators visited Yokota and the other bases in February to determine the winner. Russell said the squadron would not have come out on top without the help of the base’s local community and the productive and successful Japanese-American working relationship. Japanese employees make up one-quarter of the base’s workforce. (Yokota report by SSgt. Ruth Curfman)
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.