Retired Maj. Gen. James I. Baginski of Wildwood, Mo., recognized for his role in enhancing the air mobility mission over the past half century, died in his home on Sept. 23 at age 81. He was interred on Sept. 28 at Frankford Plains Cemetery, in Frankford, N.J., according to his obituary in the New Jersey Herald. Born in Baltimore in 1932, Baginski was commissioned in the Air Force as a second lieutenant in 1954. He began his career flying C-119s and C-130As, and amassed more than 5,000 flying hours over his 30-year Air Force career. Baginski had several assignments in Southeast Asia during the Vietnam War before moving to Military Airlift Command headquarters at Scott AFB, Ill., for several senior assignments. He retired from the Air Force in November 1984 as director of deployment for the Joint Deployment Agency at MacDill AFB, Fla. After his retirement, he served as a consultant in the defense industry. Baginski was also a founding member of the Airlift/Tanker Association; that organization inducted him into its hall of fame in 2005. (See also A Bronze of Bagger and January 2012 release from Edwards AFB, Calif.)
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.