The congressionally mandated commission tasked with determining the appropriate Air Force Total Force mix held its third public hearing in Arlington, Va., on June 26, according to a commission release. During the hearing, retired Maj. Gen. Arnold Punaro, chairman of the Reserve Forces Policy Board, discussed the board’s January 2013 report to the Secretary of Defense, which discussed alternatives to the Air Force’s force structure changes. Punaro emphasized the need for the commission to focus on mission requirements, rather than basing its decision solely on cost, states the release. In the second session, analysts from the Institute for Defense Analyses and RAND Corp. addressed various Total Force cost models. In the third session, Heather Hogsett with the National Governors Association and Maj. Gen. Tim Orr, adjutant general of Iowa, discussed the unique role of the National Guard. The next public hearing will be held near JB McGuire-Dix-Lakehurst on July 16. (See also Force Structure Commission Holds First Public Meeting)
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.