More than 250 airmen, soldiers, and marines are preparing to take part in New Horizons Panama 2010, a US Southern Command-sponsored exercise starting June 21 and running through mid-September. New Horizons is an annual event designed to strengthen ties with partner nations in Latin America and the Caribbean through combined quality-of-life improvement projects. This year’s activities will include major construction at four schools and two clinics in the vicinity of Meteti in Panama’s Darien region. There will also be medical outreach activities starting July 2, with five medical teams providing free healthcare to the local populace in the areas around David, Chitre, and Veraguas. Twelfth Air Force (Air Forces Southern) at Davis-Monthan AFB, Ariz., is the lead planner for the event. Last year, US military personnel, including Air Force Reservists, worked in Guyana under New Horizons. (Panama City report by TSgt. Eric Petosky)
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.