p, .The overall health of the Minuteman III missile force and the morale of its crews are “exceedingly good,” said Maj. Gen. Garrett Harencak, who oversees strategic deterrence and nuclear integration matters on the Air Staff. However “that doesn’t mean we don’t continue to look into” ways to improve, he said during a June 7 Capitol Hill speech. Harencak was responding to a question on the recently released Defense Science Board study (see below) that examined the Air Force’s nuclear enterprise. Harencak said the Air Force is addressing the board’s recommendations. One in particular, he mentioned, deals with the Personnel Reliability Program. “[It] has become overly bureaucratic,” he said, adding that it had become very resource dependent. ‘People want to pass inspections and do such a great job that they’ve added so many layers of oversight that it has made it quite a burden on our [missile and bomber] wings and units,” said Harencak. He said his office would be presenting options for acting on the DSB’s recommendations to the Air Force and Pentagon leadership in a couple of weeks. AFA, the National Defense Industrial Association, and Reserve Officers Association sponsored Harencak’s talk. (See also Getting Back on Track.)
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.