Workers completed the first permanent C-130 maintenance hangar in Afghanistan at Bagram Airfield this week. Sheltering Herks and maintainers of the 455th Expeditionary Aircraft Maintenance Squadron from Afghanistan’s harsh climate, the double bay, 60,000-square-foot facility will “boost the C-130 sortie rate and mission performance by allowing maintenance to continue working during inclement weather,” said Lt. Col. Phillip Howard, 455th Civil Engineer Squadron commander. Costing a total of $18 million, USAF personnel constructed the hangar in two years’ time. It opened for use Monday. “One of the most critical elements of what we supply is what the C-130 fleet does. . . .This facility takes our ability to supply the ground force commander with combat capability to the next level,” added 455th AEW Commander Brig. Gen. Jack Briggs. (Bagram report by SrA. Sheila deVera)
Airmen and Guardians in the Active and Reserve component, as well as civilian employees, in “mission critical and high-risk populations” are now required to receive influenza vaccinations annually to “preserve force readiness,” according to a recent Department of the Air Force memo.