The Air Force leadership acted to exempt civilian personnel at Tinker AFB, Okla., whose lives were uprooted last month by the devastating tornado that hit nearby Moore, Okla., from the Pentagon’s upcoming work furloughs, according to a release from Sen. Jim Inhofe (R-Okla.). The leadership invoked alternate safe haven authorities, which exclude those Tinker civilians whose homes were destroyed or declared inhabitable from the coming furloughs, states Inhofe’s June 3 release. “This is the right thing to do. Despite some facing devastating personal circumstances, our Oklahoma-based civilian employees have shown their resilience time and time again. The least we can do is remove this additional burden,” said Air Force Secretary Michael Donley, in the release. “We will continue to support those affected by these storms in any way we can,” added Chief of Staff Gen. Mark Welsh. “The men and women who have been displaced by the recent storms in Oklahoma deserve our full support as we continue the recovery process and begin to rebuild our communities,” said Inhofe.
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.