MSgt. Timothy Mason, a command hydraulics-electrical and environmental functional manager at Air Education and Training Command Headquarters at JBSA-Randolph, Texas, is one of the Air Force’s 12 Outstanding Airmen of the Year for 2015. Mason’s exceptional work enabled headquarters support to 18 Total Force wings, 32,000 personnel, and more than 1,700 aircraft within the command. As a repair network integration core team member, his expertise guided the reorganization of A-10, F-15, and F-16 maintenance support, reducing 34 hydraulic repair centers down to nine. He also led a 13-member test team to validate the T-38 protection panel circuit card upgrade, replacing a 60-year-old design. Additionally, Mason devised an F-16 electrical systems training plan for the Iraqi air force. Dedicated to professional development, he completed a master’s degree in management and was selected as a Distinguished Graduate of the Air Force Senior Noncommissioned Officer Academy’s Advanced Leadership Experience. Air Force Magazine is shining the spotlight on each OAY in the days leading up to AFA’s Air & Space Conference, which starts Sept. 14 in National Harbor, Md. Also featured were: SrA. Allen Cherry, SrA. Meaghan Holley, SrA. Mason Meherg, SSgt. Kresston Davis, SSgt. Lindsey Fuentes, SSgt. Kurtis Harrison, SSgt. Travis Jordan, SSgt. Douglas Kechijian, TSgt. Tamara Acfalle, and MSgt. Joseph Bogdan.
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.