President Bush has nominated Maj. Gen. Larry James for appointment to the grade of lieutenant general to serve as commander of 14th Air Force (Air Forces Strategic-Space) at Vandenberg AFB, Calif., the Pentagon announced July 14. In that role, James would also head US Strategic Command’s Joint Functional Component Command for Space. James is currently vice commander of 5th Air Force and deputy commander of 13th Air Force at Yokota AB, Japan. He would replace Lt. Gen. William Shelton who has led 14th AF since May 2007. Shelton has been nominated to be the Air Force’s chief of warfighting integration.
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.