Efforts are moving forward to merge Elmendorf AFB, Alaska, and the Army’s nearby Ft. Richardson into a joint installation called Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson before the end of next year. The Anchorage Daily News reported Tuesday that the vice chiefs of staff of the Air Force and Army signed an agreement on Oct. 9 finalizing the details of the effort, which is mandated by BRAC 2005. The consolidation is scheduled to commence at the end of January and be completed by next October, the newspaper said. The Air Force will command the joint installation, with the Ft. Richardson commander serving as the deputy commander. No civilian jobs will be lost when the bases are combined, but some of the Army civilian employees will transfer over to Air Force oversight. (For more, read Anchorage’s KTUU TV News report from Tuesday.)
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.