The Air Force Expeditionary Center at JB McGuire-Dix-Lakehurst, N.J., completed its final training course for military working dog teams before this instruction shifts to Fort Bliss, Tex., under the service’s broader consolidation of its stateside security forces training at Fort Bliss. The center, home to the pre-deployment MWD training since 1996, graduated its final class in mid-November, according to a McGuire release. “The military working dog program has thrived here under the tutelage of our highly dedicated instructors, but it is time for the next step,” said Lt. Col. Brandon Casey, commander of the 421st Combat Training Squadron, which oversaw the training. “While we are sad to see the program go, we are ready to be a part of a solution that streamlines training initiatives for the Air Force and our warfighters,” he said. The MDW training will begin at Fort Bliss in June 2014, states the late November release. (McGuire report by Capt. Brooke Brzozowske)
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.