The Air National Guard at Selfridge ANGB, Mich., has decided that the proposed recreational shoreline area that Sen. Carl Levin (D-Mich.) wants to cut out of the Guard base might just affect base security. The Macomb Daily reports that Brig. Gen. Michael Peplinski basically says it’s premature “to assess whether that’s even possible—from a force protection standpoint.” Peplinski, who believes that anything more than a narrow bike path would put a required security fence too close to base facilities, has agreed to discuss the matter with the Air Force, the state’s Adjutant General, and local and state elected officials. Apparently, the plan has been percolating for a number of years, but Levin’s letter to Air Force Secretary Michael Wynne earlier this month has generated renewed interest.
The crash of a T-38 trainer jet this May—which caused a weekslong pause in flights across the fleet—was caused by an improperly installed pin for one of the jet’s horizontal stabilizers, according to a new accident report released Oct. 30. When the pin disengaged midflight, it created the slightest amount…