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pass and registration clerk with the 81st Security Forces Squadron at Keesler AFB, Miss., SSgt. Angelo C. Banks is one of the Air Force’s 12 Outstanding Airmen of the Year for 2012. During a deployment to the Transit Center at Manas in Kyrgyzstan, Banks led a quick-response fire team providing security for 90 sorties delivering vital cargo for Operation Enduring Freedom and trained Kyrgyz military members how to search vehicles for improvised explosive devices. Also supporting OEF, he led 19 flyaway security missions to 39 austere forward operating bases and spearheaded a vulnerability assessment footprint for air mobility protection. His home station efforts included streamlining base access registration for 25,000 technical school airmen; strengthening base defenses; and championing an Air Force Smart Operations for the 21st Century initiative that led to an Air Education and Training Command “best practice” for an electronic entry authorization list system. Banks’ home of record is Salina, Kan. The Daily Report is shining the spotlight on each OAY. Also featured to date: SSgt. Cory T. Branham, SrA. Bryenna L. Brooks, SrA. Matthew J. Butler, and SrA. Nicholas A. Hurt.
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.