The 379th Air Expeditionary Wing, operating from an undisclosed air base in Southwest Asia, held its inaugural Command Sponsorship Program family dinner and base tour for families permanently assigned to the installation. The event provided members of the 10 families the opportunity to visit base facilities and learn how the installation’s resources can support them, according to a Nov. 2 wing release. “This program is designed to orient them to the base and the local country. With each new family, we want their transition to be easier than the last,” said Capt. Olivia Korte, 379th Expeditionary Force Support Squadron officer in charge of the program. The tour took place on Oct. 25, culminating with a dinner with Brig. Gen Roger Watkins, 379th AEW commander. “You all are bringing to reality Lt. Gen. [David] Goldfein’s vision of developing deeper relationships with our host nation,” said Watkins. Goldfein is Air Forces Central commander. The wing’s goal is to have between 20 and 25 families on the base by the end of Fiscal 2013 and ultimately have more than 60 families permanently assigned there. (379th AEW report by SrA. Bryan Swink) (See also First of its Kind in Southwest Asia.)
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.