The West Virginia Air National Guard’s final C-5A Galaxy airlifter flew to the boneyard last week, completing the 167th Airlift Wing’s conversion to the C-17 Globemaster III, unit officials announced. Lockheed Martin saluted the conclusion of a 52-year partnership with the wing, spanning the C-121 Super Constellation, C-130 Hercules, and finally the C-5, during the ceremony marking the transition to a Boeing aircraft. “Today we pause to celebrate a sustained and successful era of iron and partnership, but it is the people who move the iron that are the most important,” said 167th AW Commander Col. Shaun Perkowski during a May 20 ceremony in Martinsburg. The 167th AW is the last of three ANG units to transition to the C-17 as part of the Air Force’s plan to retire its oldest Galaxies and convert the remainder to C-5M Super Galaxy standards. The unit has received seven of its eight C-17s, the last of which is slated to arrive in July, according to the unit.
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.