An 8th Air Force inspection team descended upon Whiteman AFB, Mo., last week, bringing with it a weapons loading event dubbed Giant Sword II. “The event is a resurrection of the highly competitive [Strategic Air Command] bomb loading competition,” said 1st Lt. Jason Christopher, Whiteman’s Giant Sword II point man. Whiteman weapons loaders are first up, but the 8th AF inspection team plans to conduct the event at the bomb wings in Louisiana, North Dakota, South Dakota, and Texas over the next few months and host a symposium in March at Barksdale AFB, La., where they will announce the winners. “In the weapons community, we have a lot of heritage and camaraderie,” said SrA. Cody McConnell, a weapons load evaluator with Whiteman’s 509th Munitions Squadron. SAC began its Giant Sword competition in 1958. (Whiteman report by SrA. Stephen Linch)
Members of the House Armed Services Committee say the AIM-260 Joint Advanced Tactical Missile program has been set back three months due to the ongoing government shutdown. The comment is noteworthy because the JATM's status has been kept tightly under wraps.
