The new career badge for the n
ew 38F Force Support Air Force Specialty Code made its debut appearance last month after 57 officers graduated from the inaugural force support officer training course at Keesler AFB, Miss. The new specialty code, which came online last October, incorporates services with the previously merged personnel and manpower career fields. “There’s lots of pride in being the first officers to go through this class and earn the badge,” said graduate 2nd Lt. Emily Shanes from the 4th Force Support Squadron at Seymour-Johnson AFB, N.C. Capt. Thomas Oziemblowsky, chief of organization in Air Staff’s manpower and personnel office (A1), designed the badge. “We wanted the badge to be unique while keeping some familiar elements from the legacy career field badges,” he said in a release from the Air Force Personnel Center yesterday. He added, “We preserved the unique history of each badge while establishing a new, distinct symbol for our new force support officers.” The design incorporates the torch from the services badge and the delta from the manpower and personnel badge. The wreath around the torch and delta infuses the badge with a touch of tradition, the Air Force said. Officers possessing the legacy 37F Manpower and Personnel and 34M Services occupational badges will stop wearing them by Aug. 1 in favor of the new badge.
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.