That is the sentiment expressed by Rep. Norman Dicks (D-Wash.) during a pep rally at the Boeing 767 plant in Everett, Wash., where Boeing would produce the airframes should it win the KC-X tanker replacement program contract. Dicks and other lawmakers on hand at the event favor the Boeing entrant in the competition over the Northrop Grumman-EADS aircraft that would be produced in Alabama. Roxana Tiron of The Hill newspaper reports that Dicks said that spreading the program over the next 40 years (see above) is “ridiculous.” We’re certain the Air Force would agree if it could find the money to move faster.
The Air Force’s study of possible links to elevated rates of cancer among personnel who worked on intercontinental continental ballistic missiles has begun, the commander in charge of the U.S. ICBM fleet confirmed March 28. The initial phase of that study will mine cancer registries for information and compile a…