The Enlisted Heritage Hall on the grounds of the Gunter Annex at Maxwell AFB, Ala., is adding new exhibits as it renovates existing ones and improves environmental conditions in the facility to preserve its display items better. The Maxwell-Gunter Dispatch reported Dec. 5 that the museum is currently renovating more than 25 exhibits. For example, the Khobar Towers exhibit is being revamped to completely seal the display case in order to protect its uniforms and artifacts more effectively, the newspaper said, citing Bill Chivalette, the museum’s curator. And, the Air Force Cross exhibit is being completely redesigned and will have “stunning graphics,” Chivalette told the newspaper. Among the new displays is one on explosive ordnance personnel; a second honors the memory of SrA. Jason Cunningham and TSgt. John Chapman, a pararescue jumper and combat controller, respectively, who were killed during Operation Anaconda in Afghanistan in March 2002. “Even if you have visited EHH before, come by again,” Chivalette told the newspaper. “You will find something new.” The Enlisted Heritage Hall is the only Air Force museum dedicated to honoring the contributions of enlisted airmen. (Want more on EHH? Read Air Force Magazine’s Enlisted Heritage Under Glass and Stories in Stripes)
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.