The Air Force Chief of Staff says the service’s long years of combat experience (see above) are driving it to change the way it develops and trains airmen. Gen. Michael Moseley told Pentagon reporters, “We are looking at what it takes to better prepare our people to operate in an expeditionary Air Force engaged in a global war on terrorism that will likely last a generation, and that’s a hug set of challenges and opportunities for us.” The service is about to launch a huge personnel change that will consolidate many of the service’s myriad career fields. Tomorrow’s “airman will have to be prepared to fight across all spectrums of conflict,” said Moseley.
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.