The Air Force last week began Phase II of its noncommissioned officer retraining program, giving airmen identified for retraining until April 6 to submit a request to retrain and April 29 to follow with a retraining package. The service has identified more than 100 NCOs that it wants to move into a new career field to put them “where they are needed most,” said MSgt. Deitra Mathis, enlisted retraining superintendent at the Air Force Personnel Center at Randolph AFB, Tex. If the NCOs on the involuntary retraining list do not meet the April 29 deadline, the Air Force plans to separate them from the service. Air Force officials have said that despite plans to increase end strength, they must continue to shape the force, principally shifting airmen to chronically short fields. (AFPC report)
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.