On a trip to MacDill AFB, Fla., Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld was asked at a Town Hall meeting to say when the Air Force would get a replacement for its Eisenhower-era aerial tankers. The “short answer,” he said, is, “I don’t know.” He termed that admission “a confession,” quipping, “Confession is good for the soul.” He went on to tell the Town Hall audience that the Pentagon had been “wrestling with this for four or five years. My personal view is that we’re getting closer … and a recommendation will be made to Congress.”
Air Force depots are not typically meant for quick repair jobs, but during Operation Epic Fury, the service moved some of its stateside heavy maintenance capability forward to fix battle-damaged aircraft closer to the fight.
