The Hawaii Air National Guard’s 154th Maintenance Squadron is slimming down its maintenance processes to fit the arrival of the new C-17 airlifter to Hickam AFB, Hawaii, where the airlifters will be operated jointly by active duty and Guard personnel. Boeing officials recently spent a week at Hickam conducting a Lean Concepts Workshop, indoctrinating the Guardsmen in the standard 120-day inspection cycle used for preventive maintenance on the C-17. The base has four of the eight new aircraft it will operate.
Trainees in Basic Military Training and technical school no longer have the option to try alternate PT drills if they fail an initial assessment, according to a policy change the Air Force made in April. The move is part of a larger shift out of the classroom and into hands-on,…