Deputy Defense Secretary Ash Carter recognized MSgt. Wesley Fleming, operations manager of American Forces Network at Misawa AB, Japan, as the Office of the Secretary of Defense’s Senior Enlisted Member of the Year for 2010. At the same Pentagon ceremony, Carter also honored Army SSgt. Motavia Alston, manager and head chef for the Defense Secretary’s executive dining facility in the Pentagon, as OSD’s Junior Enlisted Member of the Year for 2010. “You may not read about them everyday . . . but, behind the scenes, they are the unsung heroes,” said Carter during the Dec. 2 event. Carter called Fleming and Alston the “living example of duty, honor, country,” noting their career excellence. (AFPS report be Lisa Daniel)
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.