Four 
Airmen received the 2011 Lance P. Sijan Leadership Award during a ceremony in the Pentagon’s Hall of Heroes. Chief of Staff Gen. Norton Schwartz hosted the April 6 event, presenting the award to: Maj. Laura DeJong, criminal investigations policy and program manager for the Air Force Inspector General’s office; Capt. Gilbert Wyche, mobility and resources officer in charge for the 48th Security Forces Squadron at RAF Lakenheath, England; SMSgt. Timothy Sterner, command explosive ordnance disposal superintendent for Pacific Air Forces at JB Pearl Harbor-Hickam, Hawaii; and TSgt Nathaniel Hoag, combat controller with the 24th Special Tactics Squadron at Pope Field, N.C. “We recognize these four outstanding individuals for demonstrating the highest quality of leadership,” said Schwartz. The annual Sijan award, named in honor of the first Air Force Academy graduate to receive the Medal of Honor, recognizes officer and enlisted honorees who best exemplify the service’s core values of integrity, service, and excellence. (Washington, D.C., report by SrA. Christina Brownlow)
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.