President Barack Obama has nominated Lt. Gen. Bradley Heithold to be commander of Air Force Special Operations Command at Hurlburt Field, Fla., according to a March 18 Defense Department release. Heithold currently serves as the vice commander of US Special Operations Command at the Pentagon. If the Senate approves his nomination he will replace Lt. Gen. Eric Fiel, who has led AFSOC since June 2011.
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.