The Defense Department announced April 30 that SrA. Jonathan A.V. Yelner, 24, of Lafayette, Calif., died April 29 near Bagram AB, Afghanistan, from wounds he received when his vehicle struck an improvised explosive device. Yelner had deployed to Afghanistan from the 28th Aircraft Maintenance Squadron at Ellsworth AFB, S.D.
The Air Force is planning to spend $2.19 billion over the next five years to acquire new C-37 jets for transporting military and civilian leaders. That’s on top of another $1.17 billion in projected funding for the VC-25B “Air Force One” replacement.