The Air National Guard’s 167th Airlift Wing at Martinsburg, W.Va., is having no problem filling the extra slots created when the wing transitioned from the C-130 tactical airlifter to the mammoth C-5 strategic airlifter. The unit flew its first C-5 operational mission in April. West Virginia Metro News reports that the wing is slated to reach full operational capability by spring 2009, but the unit already has half its new manpower slots filled. The unit has been recruiting for less than two months. MSgt. Dan Jenkins, recruiting supervisor, said, “It’s all about the attitude, the people, the great working environment, the new buildings, new planes. You bring that and you’re kind of like that “Field of Dreams.” You build it, [and] they will come.”
The Pentagon has concluded a new agreement to buy laser-guidance kits that turn rockets into drone-killing weapons. BAE Systems and the Defense Department announced a framework deal of up to seven years for 25,000 Advanced Precision Kill Weapon System guidance kits annually for the U.S. military.