The Boeing Company said Nov. 19 that it must cut some 800 employees at its Integrated Defense Systems facility in Wichita, Kan., in 2009, partly because of the delay in the Air Force’s KC-X tanker replacement program. Defense Secretary Robert Gates in September put off a new contract award until the next Administration takes office. Boeing said it planned to deliver the first 76 layoff notices on Friday and the remaining ones mostly during the first half of the new year. Expressing regret at the decision, Scott Strode, VP and GM of Boeing Wichita said in a company statement, “A combination of events are limiting our business options and forcing us to reduce our current employee total.” He added, “We are also taking steps to restructure our business in order to lower our rates and become more affordable for customers.”
Air Force Gen. Jacqueline D. Van Ovost—a trailblazer and one of the first 10 women to reach a four-star rank across the U.S. military—retired and passed control of U.S. Transportation Command to Air Force Gen. Randall Reed on Oct. 4, finishing an eventful tenure at TRANSCOM.