October 
2010 was a strong recruiting month for the Air Force, according to the Defense Department’s latest figures issued this week. USAF’s active duty force brought in 1,511 new accessions, matching its goal. The Air National Guard attracted 729 new recruits, surpassing its 541-accessions objective by 188. The Air Force Reserve exceeded its target of 760 accessions by nine. Across DOD, the Army active duty force exceeded its recruiting goal, while both the Marine Corps and Navy met theirs. All of the other services’ reserve components exceeded their targets, except for the Navy Reserve, which met its goal. October, the first month in Fiscal 2011, built upon DOD’s strong recruiting numbers throughout Fiscal 2010. Beginning with Fiscal 2011, DOD is reporting monthly recruiting numbers against the services’ “year-to-date” goals, as opposed to the monthly goals reported in the past.
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.