Air 
Force Secretary Michael Donley on Wednesday called on the 1,021 graduates of the Air Force Academy’s Class of 2011 to seek out ways to contribute to the units in which they’ll serve. “In the words of [former Los Angeles Dodgers manager] Tommy Lasorda, there are three types of batters, and by extension, three types of people: Those who make it happen, those who watch it happen, and those who wonder what happened,” Donley told the academy’s 53rd graduating class in his commencement address on the Colorado campus. He added, “My advice to you is to be in the first group: we need airmen who make it happen.” The new second lieutenants will step into leadership roles amid an Air Force in transition, as increasing numbers of airmen are entering burgeoning career fields such as cyberspace and remotely piloted aircraft operations, he said. But no matter how advanced is the technology of USAF’s systems, the nation’s security will still rest “on the education, the training, the commitment, and, ultimately, the quality of our airmen,” said Donley. “We are counting on you to use your education and training to the fullest.” (Colorado Springs report by Don Branum)
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.