The Air Force has awarded the Bronze Star medal to Capt. Karen Rupp for her actions while deployed to Iraq as commander of the 424th Medium Truck Detachment. Rupp had deployed from Dover AFB, Del., but is now aerial port officer for the 732nd Air Mobility Squadron at Elmendorf AFB, Alaska. At the ceremony, Rupp said, “This deployment is the highlight of my career,” noting that her unit was “as close to the fight as you can get and dealt with life and death situations on a daily basis.” During her seven month tour, her unit moved 190,000 tons of cargo on the ground, compared to an annual 100,000 tons move by air at Dover. She credited the unit’s “repetitive training” as a major factor in “bringing everyone home safely.” (Elmendorf report by SrA. Laura Turner)
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.