Maj. Gen. Alfred Flowers, deputy assistant secretary of the Air Force for budget, has been selected for induction into the Order of the Sword, the highest honor the noncommissioned force can bestow on an officer. CMSgt. James Cody, command chief for Air Education and Training Command, informed Flowers of his selection at the Pentagon last week. “I don’t think there’s any command in our United States Air Force that’s more important to all of us than [Air] Education and Training Command,” Flowers said, with a nod to airmen undergoing basic training. “That is what it’s all about,” he added. Before serving in the Air Force office of financial management, Flowers commanded 2nd Air Force. Flowers will officially be inducted into the Order of the Sword in April. (Pentagon report by SMSgt. David Byron)
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.