A five-man team assigned to the 386th Expeditionary Medical Group in Southwest Asia successfully turned an old storage room into supply space for durable medical equipment, creating a “patient movement item hub.” This hub—and the team’s new mission surrounding it—will ensure that much-needed supplies, such as litters, restraints, and backrests, can readily be moved to 38 bases throughout the theater. Airmen will continuously recycle items back through the new PMI hub so that wounded warriors receive the best care as quickly as possible. “This mission is extremely important because, not too long ago, there was no PMI hub in the whole [area of responsibility],” said SSgt. Taylor Ramos, 386th MDG PMI manager. “All PMI durables were coming from the states and the turnaround time was too long.” The team expects to handle around 50 to 100 orders each week. (386th AEW report by SrA. Rachelle Elsea)
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.