The 89th Airlift Wing at Andrews AFB, Md., has received a new C-37B, flown in by Air Mobility Command boss Gen. Arthur Lichte, last week; the Gulfstream 550 will transport senior civilian and military leaders. • A number of Air Force employees at the Oklahoma City Air Logistics Center (62) and the Ogden ALC (43) in Utah have made the switch to the Defense Logistics Agency, as the Air Force complies with the BRAC 2005 direction to have all depot-level procurement handled by DLA; the Air Force already has transferred other depot personnel to DLA entities at the OC-ALC and Warner Robins ALC in Georgia to comply with BRAC 2005. • There’s a shortage of primary care providers at the medical center at Wright-Patterson AFB, Ohio, because of deployments and vacancies, prompting USAF to ask some non-active duty beneficiaries to consider changing from a base provider to one in the civilian Tricare network. • Eighth Air Force has a new name; it is now 8th Air Force (Air Forces Strategic) in line with the changes to other numbered Air Forces, such as 9th Air Force (Air Forces Central).
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.