Explosive ordnance disposal technicians with the 820th RED HORSE Squadron at Nellis AFB, Nev., now attend jump school at Fort Benning, Ga., in order to qualify the unit for airborne EOD operations. In addition, they will spend another two weeks undergoing helicopter-borne air-assault qualifications at Fort Campbell, Ky., according to an Aug. 15 Nellis release. This unique training combination will allow the EOD airmen to parachute alongside the RED HORSE combat engineers and clear areas of improvised explosive devices, mines, or unexploded munitions, states the release. “Being attached to [RED HORSE], we would be enabling them to get their job done,” said SSgt. Cole Dunham, an airborne EOD journeyman with the 820th RHS. He added, “As enablers, we clear any kind of explosive hazards that might pose a risk to the people operating on the ground.” (Nellis report by SrA. Jack Sanders)
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.