The Wichita Eagle reports that the Kansas lawmakers who said earlier this year that the Air National Guard at McConnell AFB, Kan., was in line to get a squadron of T-38s to perform a fighter training mission now say the Air Force has put the move under study. ANG’s 184th Air Refueling Wing at McConnell is slated to lose its KC-135 tankers to another Kansas ANG unit under BRAC 2005. Sen. Pat Roberts (R) and Rep. Todd Tiahrt (R) are pursuing other options, says the newspaper.
The U.S. military is maintaining a beefed-up presence in the Middle East, including fighters and air defense assets, following the U.S. strikes on Iranian nuclear facilities June 22 and subsequent retaliation by the Iranians against Al Udeid Air Base in Qatar.
