Recruiting is still up across the board, according to the latest Pentagon figures that cover the month of July. Staying way ahead, for the sixth month in a row, is the Air National Guard, which achieved 129 percent of accessions compared to its goal. Next closest is the active Marine Corps at 117 percent. In July, each active and reserve component met or exceeded its recruiting goal. The gone-south economy has trumped predictions by defense officials earlier this fiscal year that it would be a tough year.
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.