Rep. Jim Saxton (R-N.J.) extolled the arrival of the New Jersey Air National Guard’s first R model KC-135 tankers, saying the aircraft would “ensure the survival of the 108th Air Refueling Wing. The wing is giving up its older KC-135E models for the newer R models, which have new engines that make them 90 percent quieter than the older model tankers. Saxton was instrumental in getting the 108th ARW, based at McGuire AFB, N.J., off the hit list during BRAC 2005.
Air Force Secretary Frank Kendall doesn’t see great value in trying to break the Sentinel ICBM program off as a separate budget item the way the Navy has with its ballistic-missile submarine program, saying such a move wouldn’t create any new money for the Air Force to spend on other…