The Air Force is bringing back Roll Call, the once-regular bulletin for the enlisted force, announced CMSAF James Cody, on Wednesday at AFA’s 2013 Air and Space Conference. Started back in 2006, Roll Call was an attempt to keep communication open between the top enlisted airman and the enlisted force, but efforts soon “petered out,” said Cody at a press briefing after his conference address. The new Roll Call is meant to drive interaction between enlisted leadership and airmen, he said. Its inaugural issue was expected for release on Wednesday. The publication will appear monthly. During his speech, Cody emphasized that face-to-face communication is absolutely important to the force. “You can’t get [that] through an email . . . through a text, or a tweet, or a Facebook page” to the same degree, he said. “I might get some response that says you’re acknowledging the information . . . but I don’t know whether I’ve communicated effectively,” he said.
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.